Colombia confident more to come from Falcao
Russia — Colombia coach Jose Pekerman has tipped Radamel Falcao for more success after seeing the veteran Monaco striker bag his first World Cup goal in a 3-0 rout of Poland in Kazan on Sunday.
“I think this is one of the greatest joys we experienced tonight,” Pekerman said when asked how important Falcao’s goal was for the team and the country.
Falcao, 32, was cruelly deprived of competing in Brazil four years ago after sustaining a serious knee injury while playing for Monaco in the French Cup.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United forward had to watch as teammate James Rodriguez emerged as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals and the best striker of the tournament as Colombia reached the quarterfinals.
Falcao has dreamed of scoring at the World Cup since his childhood, and after missing Brazil the whole of Colombia has prayed for (The Tiger) to make his mark on soccer’s biggest stage.
After Barcelona defender Yerry Mina broke the deadlock with a powerful 40th-minute header, Falcao made no mistake when he was sent through on goal by a sublime Juan Quintero pass from the right side that saw him coolly beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with the outside of his right boot in the 70th minute.
The thousands of Colombian fans who filled Kazan Arena erupted with joy, and Colombia’s players ran to offer their captain their congratulations.
“He’s a symbol of our team, a symbol for Colombian football,” said Pekerman.
“We always hoped he would score and that he can be as fit as he was in the match today.
“We want to help him as a team so that he can show all his skill and shine. And I think the fact that today he scored was extremely important not only for today’s match but for future matches.
“We were playing with the pressure of having to win. Both teams had just lost so there was no room for mistakes. We shouldered that responsibility fully but with a beautiful game and creative football. Now we have a good position in this World Cup.”
Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado capped an impressive night’s work for (Coffee Makers) by hitting the net five minutes later after a superb cross-field pass by RodriKAZAN, guez, who overcame a calf injury to start for Colombia, which needs to beat Senegal in its final group game to be sure of a last-16 spot.
Rodriguez shines
The stunning return of Rodriguez to the starting lineup was another huge plus.
Having nursed a muscle injury into the tournament, the Bayern Munich playmaker came off the bench in the 2-1 loss to Japan but was unable to conjure an equalizer for 10-man Colombia.
Knowing a loss to Poland would mean World Cup oblivion, Pekerman rushed Rodriguez back into the starting XI in an attacking trio with Juan Quintero and Cuadrado.
And the move paid off, with Rodriguez producing sublime assists for Yerry Mina’s opener and Cuadrado’s strike, recapturing those heady days from Brazil.