By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A Colombian team inspired by the flair of 18-year-old Linda Caicedo at the Women’s World Cup will welcome another wunderkind to the grand stage when Ana Maria Guzman takes the field in the round-of-16 clash against Jamaica on Tuesday.
Guzman, a few months Caicedo’s junior, will slot into Colombia’s defence in place of fullback Manuela Vanegas, who is suspended after picking up a second yellow card in the 1-0 defeat to Morocco, their last group match.
With Caicedo up forward, Guzman will give Colombia a second teenage threat, the pair set to combine in a third World Cup in 12 months after playing in the under-17 and under-20 tournaments last year.
“To be with Linda is something extremely special for me,” Guzman, 18, told reporters at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Monday.
“Yes we are the youngest players but we are skilled and we are aware that once we are onto the pitch we will give our very best and we will break our backs for this shirt.”
After failing to qualify for France in 2019, Colombia have already matched their World Cup best, a last 16 appearance at the 2015 tournament in Canada.
With heavyweights Brazil crashing out of the group phase in Australia and New Zealand, Colombia are the only South American nation left.
A commitment to youth development has underpinned Las Cafeteras’ (the Coffee Growers’) resurgence and the future is bright.
Colombia made the quarter-finals of the under-20 World Cup in Costa Rica and were runners-up at the under-17 tournament in India, losing to Spain in the decider.
Senior women’s head coach Nelson Abadia, who is heavily involved in the junior programmes, said Guzman and Caicedo were part of a core of young talent developed for national duty since they were 12.
“Thank God everything pulled off and thanks as well to the executive committee because they were backing this plan,” Abadia told reporters.
“We’ve been stimulating their growth so that they can be who they are currently on this world stage of football.”
Caicedo scored a goal in both the 2-0 defeat of South Korea and the 2-1 upset of heavyweights Germany in the group stage but no Colombian player found the back of the net against Morocco.
Jamaica, who reached the knockout phase for the first time with three clean sheets and a solitary goal, could prove a tough nut to crack in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Abadia said Colombia’s finishing against Morocco was below par and his players had lacked desperation late in what was effectively a dead rubber for the South Americans.
“But you know every game is different. We will face tomorrow’s game with intelligence and with good management,” he added.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
