Néstor Lorenzo is not confident against Panama: “We have to be prepared, football has no logic”

The Colombian team was one of the best in the group stage, going undefeated with two wins and one draw, qualifying as first in Group D, even ahead of Brazil.

Now the Colombian team will have to face Panama in the quarterfinals of the competition in search of a place in the semifinals of the tournament. They reached this stage in the last edition and ended up losing on penalties to Argentina.

Although Colombia is the big favourite in this quarter-final, coach Néstor Lorenzo is not overconfident and knows that Panama will be a tough team to face.

“Panama’s game conditions us if we don’t find the ball and control it. It’s a system similar to that of Costa Rica, but they are a bit more daring in duels, they are physically strong,” analyzed the Argentine coach who leads the Colombian national team.

“Panama is capable of hurting in long-range play, quick transition and good aerial play,” concluded the coach about the upcoming match of the Colombian team.

Lorenzo knows that anything can happen on the pitch and does not rule out the possibility that the match could be decided by a penalty shootout. He even admitted that the players practiced penalty kicks during the week.

“The winner is not always the one who deserves to win, nor the one who plays the best. We have to be prepared, football has no logic,” Lorenzo stressed in the press conference prior to Saturday’s match.

Ultimately, Lorenzo and his Colombia will go against Panama without looking at their favourites label. “We have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. We take it game by game, we don’t believe anything, we have played with the same seriousness and style against each rival,” concluded the coach.

Colombia close to matching its winning streak

Colombia’s national team has gone 26 consecutive games without losing. This streak is the longest currently for a national team, after Argentina lost its unbeaten record in 2022.

In fact, the South American team could equal a historic record, since if they do not lose to Panama, they will reach 27 games without losing. This number belongs to the record of the Colombian team led by Francisco Maturana between 1993 and 1994.

Keep reading:
· Colombia achieves the longest winning streak at national team level today
· Meet all the top scorers of the 2024 Copa América so far
· The four controversies of the group stage of the 2024 Copa América