The Colombian national soccer team is busy training in South Florida in preparation for their next match against the Haitian national soccer team at Marlin’s Stadium on Sunday May 29th.
Players from the South American team began arriving at MIA last weekend and have been actively training and conditioning at FIU soccer field in Kendall.
The game against the island nation serves as a warm-up match as both teams prepare to play next month at the historic Copa America Centenario tournament taking place at various stadiums all across the United States and where Colombia will face the U.S Men’s National Team in the home opener.
At Tuesday’s training Santiago Arias who plays defense for Colombian and for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven acknowledged the Unites States is a tough team to beat.
“The Unites States is playing at home and we know is going to be a difficult game, they are going to give it their all to win the opening match, but we also have the capability and conditioning necessary to win that game.” Arias said.
Although it was previously mentioned that the 2014 World Cup’s leading scorer, James Rodriguez would play against Haiti here in Miami, the reality is that the Real Madrid mid-fielder won’t be at Sunday’s game due to the final Champions League match on Saturday where Real Madrid is going head-to-head against its rival, Atletico Nacional.
Sunday’s game will however feature top players from both teams like Juan Cuadrado (Juventus), Carlos Bacca (Milan) and David Ospina (Arsenal) from the Colombian federation, while Jerome Mechack (Armada FC), Johny Placide (Stade de Reims), Jeff Louis (Sm Caen), Donald Guerrier (Wisla Krakow), and Kervens Fils (1461 Trabzon) lead the Haitian team.
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CMN Sports, a division of Cárdenas Marketing Network, Inc., is the organizer of this match and its founder Henry Cardenas is said to be excited to be able to bring this international match to South Florida.
"We know Miami has a large community of both Colombian and Haitian soccer fans and are pleased to bring this exciting match to them," said founder and CEO of CMN, Henry Cárdenas.
The Colombia vs Haiti match takes place next Sunday May 29th at 5pm at Marlin’s Park, fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #COLvsHaiti to show their support on all social media platforms.
