On July 7, Colombia secured a convincing 5-0 victory over Panama in the quarterfinals of the Copa América. However, Colombia’s coach, Lorenzo, struck a cautious tone after the match, emphasizing that the game was not as straightforward as the score might indicate.
Lorenzo remarked, “The match wasn’t as easy as the result suggests. Panama is a team with a good system, and they just lacked experience in finishing, but that’s our strength – that’s where the difference lies. The key is to compete physically and technically at our best in every aspect. This match wasn’t comfortable for us, as winning with such a large margin seems like a landslide, but it wasn’t really like that.”
Regarding the choice of semifinal opponents, he said, “It’s not appropriate to choose a preferred opponent. Both Uruguay and Brazil are great teams, two champions. Either one of them is a contender to win the tournament. We’ve played against them before, and we’re not afraid of who we’ll face in the semis. We’ll strive to compete hard against either team.”