Yerry Mina is representing Cagliari at the World Cup, the only Rossoblu called up. The defender is part of the Colombia squad, which opens its Group K match against Uzbekistan late this morning (at 4:00 AM CET), the final match of the first day of the group stage . In Mexico City, the Cafeteros will face one of the tournament's debuting national teams, led by Fabio Cannavaro.
Mina, however, is unlikely to start. Colombia's coach, Argentine Néstor Gabriel Lorenzo, who played as a defender at Bari in the 1989-90 season, favors the central defense pairing of Jhon Lucumí (of Bologna) and Davinson Sánchez . Barring any surprises, these two will be the starters, as they were in the last friendly against Jordan on June 7th.
Compared to many of his teammates, Mina may have an advantage: he is among the few Colombian players to have already played in a World Cup. Of the twenty-six players called up, seventeen are making their debut: the Cagliari defender, who has 54 caps overall for the national team, took part in the 2018 edition in Russia and – interestingly – scored in all three group stage matches . Group K also includes Portugal and Congo, who play today at 7 pm in Houston.