The Colombian Under-17 team already know their rivals in the South American championship

The schedule of youth tournaments for national teams continues, and now it’s the turn of the 2023 South American Under-17 which will be held in Ecuador between him March 30 and April 23. On Friday, February 24, the two championship groups were drawn in which the Colombian selection He plans to secure a spot in the category’s world championship to be held this year in Peru, starting November 10.

Colombia was included in group A from South America, the same as the host team of Ecuador. The group of five completes it Chile, Uruguay y Brazil. In an assuredly competitive group, those led by Juan Carlos Ramirez They will seek to find a place among those classified in the hexagonal final, first, and in the World Cup in Inca territory, later.

The format of the championship will be the same as that used in the under-20 category. Each team will play four matches in the first phase. The three best teams in each group will qualify for the hexagonal final where they will compete. The first four classified will be those who will ensure the ticket for the World Cup of the category and the first will be the champion. The schedule and the stadiums in which the engagements will be played are still pending.

The team led by Juan Carlos Ramírez will seek to be the protagonist of the tournament, which has not happened since 2007, when it was runner-up in the tournament held in our country. In a team which, under the management of Eduardo Lara, counted James Rodríguez, Cristian Nazarit and Santiago Trellez as the most outstanding players, Colombia qualified second in Group B behind Argentina, then finished in second place of the hexagonal final behind Brazil with a record of three victories. , a draw and a loss.

The only time Colombia became champions of the tournament was in the 1993 edition, also held in the country and in which players such as Jorge Bolaño, Ricardo Ciciliano and Alexander Posada consolidated years later . In total, the team has one title, one sub-title, two third places and three fourth places in the history of the South American U-17 Championships.

The team carried out its preparation work in Bogotá, where a series of microcycles were carried out under the command of national coach Juan Carlos Ramírez. The objective is to take advantage of the height of the country’s capital to achieve an adaptation that allows them to play with a certain advantage in Quito, a city that, together with the coastal city of Guayaquil, will host the tournament.

Previously, Colombia played two warm-up matches against their Peruvian counterparts at Techo’s Metropolitano stadium. Both games ended 0-0 and 1-1 even, despite the national team being superior in both cases and generating a significant flow of attacking play. However, the inaccuracy of the attackers in front of the goal led to these results, on which the technical staff will have to work.

After the one-goal draw with the Inca team, Ramirez told the media that he would continue to look for warm-up matches for his players:

“We will continue to look for preparation matches so that these guys continue to have a rhythm of competition, since they come from pre-season and are just starting to play in their departmental leagues”