Colombia coach Jorge Luis Pinto made it clear that New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel was on his radar for 2010 World Cup qualifying. Well, if 19 goals in 24 games isn’t good enough for him to earn a call-up, then what is? That Angel has been left off the Colombia squad is particularly significant given that the team failed to score in each of its first two qualifiers. Granted, these were difficult contests — at home to Brazil and away to Bolivia — but the next two games won’t be much easier. Venezuela at home is a match the Colombians will want to take maximum points from, especially because the following game comes against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
As SI.com’s Tim Vickery says, Angel’s omission “must have been a close decision.” Considering the opposition, a pair of 0-0 draws to open World Cup qualifying is hardly a disaster, but Colombia will have to score more goals if it wants to reach its first World Cup since 1998.
Perhaps the memory of Angel’s crucial miss against Chile in 2006 qualifying has something to do with it? Had he scored from a one-on-one with the Chilean keeper, Colombia would have earned the final playoff spot against Australia, the final test for reaching the 2006 finals. Or maybe it’s his age. Angel is already 32, which means he would be 34 going into the 2010 tournament.