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BOGOTA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Colombian national soccer team's shocking 3-0 defeat against Uruguay made it clear that the players coached by Argentinian Jose Nestor Pekerman are having a bad time, according to local media.
The coach's approaches were also not considered the most appropriate for facing fellow South American side, added local media.
"After Colombia's impressive performance in the previous World Cup 2014 in Brazil, Pekerman inspired hope among the country that he would continue to reap great triumphs in soccer. However, the irregular presence of some of the players, bad decisions and lack of leadership has left the coach walking on thin ice in the recent Copa America tournament and the start to the World Cup Russia 2018 South America Qualifiers," wrote Bogota daily El Tiempo on Wednesday.
At the start of the qualifiers, Colombia defeated Peru 2-0 on October 8 however, despite the win, Colombia's faults were evident and continued into Tuesday's match against Uruguay, the current leaders of the qualifiers with six points.
"Colombia is facing the same problem that is has had in recent months: the lack of soccer generation. The boring play in the center of the park was not effective because it generated absolutely nothing. Both forwards Carlos Bacca and Teofilo Gutierrez had to suffer playing further back than they were used to just to be involved in the play but they were not used as they should have been," wrote Bogota daily El Espectador.
Pekerman used the same players that faced Peru but this time the Colombians showed a lower level which Uruguay took advantage of as they were more focused and were very familiar with their rival's tactics.
"On the pitch, Colombia came across messy from the first minute to the final whistle. During the match, the team didn't even come close to the target. The only opportunity for a goal came from a header by Jeison Murillo which hit the cross-bar" wrote online portal futbolred.com.
It was made clear that Colombia need to have a rethink ahead of the upcoming qualifiers matches against Chile and Argentina. The matches will take place next month in Santiago and Baranquilla, respectively. Enditem
