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It was a warning that understandably went
unheeded by thousands of South Americans on the streets of Kazan
in the early hours of Monday as they celebrated an emphatic 3-0
victory that breathed new life into their campaign.
After losing to Japan in their opener, however, Colombia are
only third in Group H and require a win over Senegal in Samara
on Thursday to guarantee them one of the top two spots.
"We are not qualified right now," Pekerman told reporters. "We
are out of the competition right now, we need to play at an
extraordinary level to beat an extremely tough team, a team that
is on the up and up, getting better.
"We're talking about a strong side with excellent players and
we're going to have to be extremely strong to beat them."
It was not just the margin of victory over a disappointing
Poland side at the Kazan Arena that had the Colombian supporters
excited, but the manner of it.
BRIO
The midfield trio of James Rodriguez, Juan Quintero and Juan
Cuadrado orchestrated a performance of real brio that revived
memories of Colombia's charge to the quarter-finals at the last
World Cup.
"From beginning to end, we stayed true to our style," Pekerman
added.
"We were playing under the pressure of having to win and there
could be no mistakes (but) as time went by we managed to impose
this quality, this type of football that we have.
"Keeping the ball on the ground and not in the air, circulating
the ball smoothly, having players exchange moves quickly. The
team played as a unit ... and the football emerged from this
unity.
"I'm sure Senegal has its personal style but we will continue to
play our style ... We are going to go forward with faith."
Pekerman said it would have been easy for the players to panic
after the loss to Japan, which came after defender Carlos
Sanchez was sent off in the third minute for a handball.
Having come through that test of their resolve against Poland,
the wily Argentine was convinced his players would not fall
victim to complacency and would be better equipped to deal with
future setbacks.
"I really don't think that they will fall victim to hubris and
if we play slightly less well, they understand it can be due to
any set of circumstances," he said.
"This victory will make us stronger but we're not going to go
crazy. Mentally we're in a good place but we need to continue to
improve because we are ambitious and we want to continue in this
World Cup."
(Editing by Julien Pretot)
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