Colombia Vs. Greece; Radamel Falcao Out of Action; FIFA Brazil 2014 Match Dates, How to Watch
Colombia will be playing without their star striker Radamel Falcao during this World Cup, but they are still looking to jump start their campaign with a win when they collide with Greece on Saturday at the Estadio Mineirao stadium in Brazil as the FIFA World Cup tournament continues.
Playing in their first World Cup in 16 years, Colombia will be without star striker Radamel Falcao, who underwent knee surgery earlier this year.
The Colombian star striker was hoping to return from a torn ACL in this year's World Cup, but failed to recover in time for the Brazil tournament, joining former team captain Luis Perea on the sidelines for Colombia.
But despite losing Falcao, who was instrumental in their qualifying tournament success, Colombia coach Jose Pekerman is confident that his club is ready to deal with adversity and make noise in Brazil.
"This is a real group, it's a family. Tomorrow (Saturday) you will see that Falcao and Perea will be there with the team when they could be on holidays," Pekerman said. "It's always been a very united group, a family, and we deal with problems like a family. We're not talking about injuries anymore, we're talking about players. I really believe in this team."
Without Falcao, Pekerman will pin his hopes on his remaining healthy strikers, which include Carlos Bacca, Teofilo Gutierrez and Jackson Martinez, along with playmaker James Rodriguez.
Unlike Colombia, Greece got a good news heading into Saturday's showdown against Brazil.
First-choice striker Kostas Mitroglou was considered doubtful for their opener against Colombia due to a knee injury, but Greece coach Fernando Santos confirmed that the 26-year-old striker will play on Saturday.
"Being a player who has an important role in the team due to his characteristics we understand that Kostas should be here. Everything is ok," Santos said of Mitroglou. "I think he has been improving a lot physically so that is not a problem. He may be lacking rhythm a bit but after each day he is better and Mitroglou will be close to his top performances here."
Date, Schedule, How to Watch
The Colombia-Greece match will air live at 12 p.m. EST Saturday, June 14, on ABC. Fans can also watch the action online through BBC iPlayer and WatchESPN.
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