Balance y comentarios de la doble fecha // Balance and comments on the double date [Esp/Eng]

I know this is not the time to be negative or to make pessimistic comments, we are in an instance of celebration for the 3 points achieved against Paraguay. We had more than 20 years without beating them at home and undoubtedly it represents a great milestone for us, but thinking coldly after a couple of days it is time to make some reflections that are intended to put our feet on the ground.

It is true that in such complex qualifiers as these, the forms matter little when it comes to scoring points, especially for a team like Venezuela that has never been to a World Cup and that in this opportunity has greater chances taking into account the number of available slots. So it seems that the beautiful game can wait for another opportunity and we should only focus on scoring points.

This first date left us with several sensations, there are improvements in the defense despite the fact that there were some tough stretches in which we came out on top due to inaccuracies of the rival more than by our own virtue, but those things and luck are also part of the game, no team is totally impassable or effective.

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The pair of central defenders Osorio-Angel was quite sober, but the latter lacks game with the ball on his feet and that is a limitation that did not allow us to play out on several occasions, but it is not something totally serious and that surely can be improved. Alexander González finished the double date with a very high score, fulfilling his duties with great success, while the appearance of Navarro on the left side looks promising for the future, in this particular game he was correct, but we will see how he develops in the future.

In the midfield, Yangel Herrera was the referent and showed that when he is physically ready he can be a very important bastion for the national team, he has plenty of quality and still has a lot to give us, let's hope that injuries do not appear again in his career. On the other hand, Rincón was lackluster against Colombia and that cost him the start against Paraguay, but his presence and actions on the bench gave us a plus from the outside.

El brujo Martinez, like Rincon, did not have a great game against Colombia either, in the second game he could recover, but he still leaves me with many doubts. Physique is important, but in his position to play with effective passes is fundamental to give fluidity in the game, so El Brujo still has a lot of room for improvement. Cáceres Jr. is still knocking on the door in this sector and he is shaping up to be an interesting replacement as he continues to evolve year after year.

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It is up top where I think there are more problems, despite the fact that we have interesting names that make us think that there will be volume of offensive play, this still does not happen, Soteldo is unbalanced as usual, but the rivals seem to know him very well and in many opportunities he does not prosper, there are few crosses that I saw falling in the area as he normally does in Santos where he is a star.

Savarino has not yet given us a dazzling and consecrating match with the national team, his talent and quality are not in discussion, but he is still not very transcendental, I only remember the good cross he gave to Yangel in Barranquilla which he missed as he normally does not, which makes me emphasize that at this level we cannot forgive anything, if we have a chance we cannot waste it, Colombia gave us a little lesson of that.

As for Darwin Machis, his substitution against Paraguay tells us a lot about his current situation at least in this double date, he does not seem to be in a good moment despite the fact that in La Liga he is the star of his team; however, he is one of the players to whom I have a lot of faith. The starting lineup of Samuel Sosa seemed very strange to me, I don't really understand why he was taken into account, maybe it was so that he could go back and help in defensive tasks in certain moments, but from my point of view he lacks more experience for this level of competition.

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Josef Martinez did not transcend in absolutely nothing and it seems that in that place Cordoba is profiled to accompany Rondon in the future who seems to have the full confidence of the C.T., he is an immovable despite the criticism and drops in the game that he has been presenting in recent months, in that sense it seems that we do not have much more to choose from and there is nothing left to do but trust him, but I think he can give us joy, not that he gets many balls, so the lack of goal is not entirely his responsibility.

There is a lot to improve, we must generate more volume of play to get closer to the opponent's goal with the ball under control and for the strikers to have goal options, that is where I feel there are more points for improvement. Paraguay is a direct rival that is not going through a great moment, beating them should not make us think at any time that the future will be bright, at the end of the day, we won 1 - 0 agonizingly and without being totally superior.

For a team like Venezuela, which has many limitations and is playing in what is undoubtedly the most difficult qualifying round in the world, it is necessary that the locality becomes an element that will enhance and in which we are not allowed to fail. The points that can be obtained as visitors look scarce, although I believe that against teams like Bolivia (despite the altitude), Peru, Chile and Paraguay itself we can obtain some, if so, we would have a little more margin for error.

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