Colombia and its fans have it very clear: the remaining two matches of the Conmebol Qualifiers for Qatar 2022 will be a do-or-die game. Unfortunately for them, they will not count onone of their most important players on the field: Radamel Falcao. Why will the striker not play in these key matches?
On March 24, the Cafetaleros host Bolivia at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez Stadium in Barranquilla, and five days later, on March 29, they visit Venezuela in Bolivar at the Polideportivo Cachamay Stadium. These are the last matches of the South American Qualifiers.
After 16 games played, Reinaldo Rueda’s team has collected only 17 points, which places them in seventh place in the standings. The big problem for Colombia is that FIFA only grants 4.5 tickets to Qatar 2022, and in order to have access to the last direct pass to the upcoming FIFA World Cup or to the half ticket, that demands to search the other half in a match against an AsianNational Team, they must win their two games and that Chile and Peru, who are above them in the standings, do not score more than 2 and 1 point respectively.
The reason for Radamel Falcao’s absence with Colombia
With 35 goals scored in more than 90 matches played, Radamel Falcao Garcia is the top scorer in the history of the Colombian National Team. However, Reinaldo Rueda will not be able to consider him to be part of the extreme mission he has in front of him to achieve the pass to Qatar 2022.
The last match in which El Tigre participated in 2022 was on February 26, when Rayo Vallecano hosted Real Madrid in Vallecas and lost 0-1. On that occasion, Falcao Garciaplayed the last 17 minutes as a substitute.
After the match, Radamel felt a muscular discomfort in his calf, from which he has not yet been able to recover. Since then, he has missed 3 Spanish League matches and 1 Copa del Rey match, and also will not be able to fight for Colombia against Bolivia and Venezuela.
Radamel Falcao, Rayo Vallecano. (David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
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