Gueye on target for Senegal while Mina's Colombia best Argentina

Sunday, 16 June, 2019 35comments  |  Jump to most recent
Idrissa Gueye scored for Senegal as they beat Nigeria in a pre-Afcon friendly while Yerry Mina played in Colombia's opening group stage match of the Copa America.

Gueye notched the only goal of a game in which Henry Onyekuru was only named as a substitute.

Mina, meanwhile, played the whole 90 minutes as Argentina got off to a terrible start to their Copa campaign with a 2-0 defeat to the Colombians yesterday.

Roger Martinez and Duvan Zapata were on the mark in that game for Colombia who next play Qatar on Wednesday.  



Reader Comments (35)

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Colin Glassar
1 Posted 17/06/2019 at 06:48:44
From what I've read, Mina was superb and bossed Messi all game. I know a lot of fellow Blues have written him off but I think he could be a huge player for us once he adapts to the Premier League.
Brian Porter
2 Posted 17/06/2019 at 07:18:46
Mina had some terrible luck after joining us. Injured to begin with, he finally got to play, and before he really had time to assimilate himself into the team he was injured again.

He can't be blamed for that, and if he has a full pre-season with us, I think we'll start to see the player Brands bought. His performance against Messi and Co was awesome.

John G Davies
3 Posted 17/06/2019 at 08:09:59
Brian 2,

Agree 100%. Add the injuries to the fact that he had to get accustomed to the faster pace of the Premier League and there are the reasons.

Players having their first season in the Premier League regularly mention our football is faster paced than anything they have played previously. The great Marcel Desailly was awful for the first half a season when he came.

I'm not putting Mina in that class but shows the adaptation required.

John G Davies
4 Posted 17/06/2019 at 08:16:41
Just seen this from Desailly:

"Don't ask me if the football is better or worse than in Italy. It's just different. In Italy, even if it is a big game, the two teams will look at each other for a time. Here it's straightaway, kick the ball, you run, you jump, you fight from beginning to the end. It's really very surprising, but I will get used to it."

Martin Berry
5 Posted 17/06/2019 at 08:27:11
For those that had written off Mina, it was ridiculous and impatient, as the player had a bad time with injuries and needed to settle.

Marcel Brands held this player in very high regard and he knew exactly the quality he was bringing. We could have a real bargain on our hands here.

Clive Rogers
6 Posted 17/06/2019 at 09:59:21
Talk about a late developer, Idrissa has started scoring goals now. He’s getting better and better.
Jack Convery
7 Posted 17/06/2019 at 10:07:36
Are there any channels showing these games? For FREE!!
Sam Hoare
8 Posted 17/06/2019 at 10:24:52
Colombia have a very good team and could go all the way in the Copa America. I hope they do with Mina bossing it at the back as it would do his confidence the world of good. He's a big character and I think Everton fans may grow to love him once he is settled into the team and playing confidently. Still only 24 so pretty young for a centre-back.

As for Gueye, he's been my favourite Everton player for a while now. I've always thought that he is better on the ball than people give him credit for and he played some superb passes in the last third of the last season. No Pirlo for sure but certainly good enough on his day. Hope he picks up next season where he left off from last one, though interesting that I thought he actually had some of his best days next to (or just in front of actually) Schneiderlin rather than Gomes.

Si Smith
9 Posted 17/06/2019 at 11:01:49
Colin 1:

I'm with you, mate, there is a colossus in there somewhere in Mina, we've just got to get it out of him like we did with Keane. The lad's still young for a centre-half and is getting to grips with his injury problems and lack of games. The Premier League is quick and physical, get Mina some game time and we will have a good defender.

Brian Cleveland
10 Posted 17/06/2019 at 13:22:57
I watched the game and Mina was consistent and made no errors. I'm not sure he bossed Messi purely on the basis that Argentina in general were poor and Messi quiet most of the time, but Messi certainly never got the better of him.

Colombia deserved to win, good team performance.

Vamos Colombia!!

Jay Wood
[BRZ]

11 Posted 17/06/2019 at 13:45:20
Gana Gueye's skills are getting better with age. It's a mistake to believe he is a late bloomer. He was never as hapless a passer of the ball as many claim. I would be delighted if he is still in the blue shirt of Everton next season and for the remainder of his contract.

Mina is a good player. He was a colossus in defence and attack here in Brazil when winning the title with Palmeiras 3 years ago. I don't think he was as outstanding as some have stated against Argentina on Saturday, but he was very good and very solid in everything he did.

Colombia is managed by the exceedingly experienced and savvy Portuguese Carlos Queiroz these days. Queiroz leans more towards defensive solidity and it was noticeable that, unlike in previous Colombian teams when both Mina and Spurs' Sanchez often ventured forward with the ball, that both centre backs vs Argentina barely ventured over the halfway line, 'staying at home' more.

Argentina had neither the guile nor the speed to move the Colombian defence around and the pair of them were on 'easy street' for most of the game. The Colombians fully merited their win, scoring two cracking goals.

Everton, remember, lost Mina's services at the back end of the season when Queiroz foolishly played him in two consecutive friendlies when he was still recovering from an injury. I'm happy for Mina to be playing in the Copa America. It gives him much-needed game time and a competitive pre-season to Everton's own pre-season training.

Both the player and the club can benefit from this.

In last night's game, Uruguay and Ecuador there was another Everton connection. Our former loanee Enner Valencia played for Ecuador in their 4-0 loss. Uruguay benefitted from a harsh VAR red card for Ecuador on 25 minutes, but they do look very good.

Astonishingly, Cavani's goal was his first ever in a Copa America tie. It's taken him 11 games to break his duck.

Derek Knox
12 Posted 17/06/2019 at 15:34:30
How come he can score for his Home National team, but very rarely does for us? Mind you it was a pre-Afcon friendly, so probably played at a leisurely pace. :-)

I believe Eurosport are covering the Afcon games and is usually available on Freeview.

John Pierce
13 Posted 17/06/2019 at 16:23:01
Mina's performance was as expected. It's a big game. The games he did play well in last season were the big ones. Chelsea twice, the derby at their place, for example, spring to mind.

It's not those games I worry about, it's the lesser games he loses concentration in and appears complacent. The Millwall game, he was at the root of the mistakes and didn't fancy it at all.

He won't be forming a partnership with Keane – they are essentially the same centre-half. Together, they would be exposed for pace and Keane needs stability around him to perform well; Mina is not stable!

If Mina comes good, I think it will be at Keane's expense. We need a pacy centre-back to complement both.

To date, Mina hasn't put a decent string of starts together without either getting injured or doing something weird. He has to do that before, in my mind, he is a regular starter.

Justin Doone
14 Posted 17/06/2019 at 19:53:22
I think a lot of fans like I have simply questioned if Mina is good enough because we havn't had a chance to see him play half-a-dozen Premier League games in a row.

Weather has plays well or not for his country still won't answer that question.

Is he fit enough for the Premier League or will he be an injury prone player whose body isn't suited to the rigours.

Is he good enough to adapt to the different styles that are played each week? The Premier League is like no other.

Hopefully in 6 months, and in 6 years, the answers will be a resounding Yes! Until then, I'll continue to be concerned about our defence.

As for Gana, he's simply great and starting to add goals to his game. We need to keep him!

Mike Gaynes
15 Posted 18/06/2019 at 03:27:19
And in the latest Everton Internationals update, our man Martina was at centre-back for Curacao... that's right, centre-back... and wearing the captain's armband for tonight's Gold Cup classic with El Salvador.

Cuco was beaten by a thru ball for the only goal of the game.

Darren Hind
16 Posted 18/06/2019 at 05:20:35
Mina was indeed unlucky last season. He kept coming across forwards who were quicker in thought and deed. I'm happy to give him a little more time, but let him prove his worth rather than offer daft-arse excuses for some abject performances.

Argentina are a perfect example to those who believe a 20-goal-a-season striker would be the answer to all our problems. They have got two and they have spent forever trying to remember how to get the ball to them.

Looking at the TW survey, I see the overwhelming majority think a 20-goal striker is our priority. It won't happen. They cost too much. I'd rather Silva developed a system where 3-4 players will get enough opportunities to get comfortably into double figures.

Going back to central defence, I sincerely hope those calling for a Mina - Keane partnership don't get their wish. Both have a questionable first touch (the predators will already know this) and while Mina takes 4-5 strides to get into top gear Keane hasn't got one... We would either go back to the dark days of defending deep, or the speed merchants would murder them.

Jim Harrison
17 Posted 18/06/2019 at 05:43:49
Darren 16

Regards getting multiple scorers rather than one high contributor, that was Koeman's thought too, and seems to be the way now in most top Premier League teams.

But, most of the best teams have those 3 or 4 players AND a 20-a-season striker! We may be some way off that situation though!

Darren Hind
18 Posted 18/06/2019 at 06:30:53
Koeman didn't allow 3-4 players into the opposition half.
Tony Abrahams
19 Posted 18/06/2019 at 07:09:30
I honestly never saw much “thought” during Koeman's awful stint as Everton manager, and I have to agree with Darren, about that central defensive partnership.

I'm not sure I've seen many successful teams that never had pace at the back, especially now because the style seems to be about pushing up and pressing high, which surely means defenders have definitely got to have a turn of pace?

I'm looking forward to seeing if Mina can really adapt to English football, because he's definitely got the right attributes to become a very good centre-half.

Derek Knox
20 Posted 18/06/2019 at 09:10:36
Mike G @ 15, "Cuco was beaten by a thru ball for the only goal of the game".

Can we therefore conclude that he is crap in whatever position he plays? :-)

John G Davies
21 Posted 18/06/2019 at 09:14:07
You usually need one of the centre-backs to have pace to form a good partnership. I'm hoping we can keep Zouma to form the partnership with Mina.

Examples of a centre-half adapting to a lack of pace include Maguire who was much derided and even ridiculed by one or two on these pages when he was suggested as a player we should buy.

John G Davies
22 Posted 18/06/2019 at 09:23:35
Buy for £15 million. What a bargain that would have been. Even if he does "turn slower than the Royal Iris" as a resident coach described him.
Sam Hoare
23 Posted 18/06/2019 at 09:31:38
I tend to agree about Mina and Keane, though, having said that, they kept two clean sheets against Chelsea who obviously have (had) some pretty fast and tricky wingers.

I'm sure that a centre-back with pace must be high on Brands's shopping list. Unless him and Silva have great faith in Holgate (who sadly got almost not time at centre-back last season).

Steve Carse
24 Posted 18/06/2019 at 10:21:58
The lack of interest in Maguire when he was at Hull was a reflection of the forever increasing leaning for Premier League managers to go for overseas players first. Dare one suggest that the need for managers to have 'international' credentials is one factor, even if the manager has no great knowledge of the player.

If we fail to keep Zouma, I'd go no further than Watford for the replacement. Cathcart was brilliant last season, including at international level when playing for Northeren Ireland. Unfortunately, his British origins and unsexy surname will go against him progressing his career.

Alan McGuffog
26 Posted 18/06/2019 at 11:10:53
Steady on, Steve... they'll be calling you a Brexiteer!!
Darren Hind
27 Posted 18/06/2019 at 18:13:34
Steve

I think there was a lot of interest in Maguire when Hull were relegated. I didnt see any reports linking him to us or read of any rumours on here, but he was linked to a few clubs and given Leicester had played CL football that year. It was a good move for him.

I did see one post saying he was linked to Man City, I guess thats why he has suddenly surfaced on here lately, but when I googled Maguire to City. I soon realised the story had orignated from that tatty little tabloid which the overwhelming majority of this city don't care to mention.

Needless to say, I didnt pursue it

Mike Gaynes
28 Posted 18/06/2019 at 18:25:03
Derek #20, he sure was on that play. Looked like he was on roller skates with a wheel missing.

Steve #24, like Darren I recall a whole lot of interest in Maguire at that time. I thought he was overpriced, although it looks like Leicester is going to reap a rich return from their investment if ManUtd pay anywhere close to that £90m figure. I still don't think he's that good.

Also Cathcart is 30, so any "progress" in his career has already been made, and he just signed a new four-year contract this week, so Brands and Silva will have zero interest.

Tony Abrahams
30 Posted 18/06/2019 at 19:16:07
I heard Koeman was happier getting Keane over McGuire, but it was words I read from Steve Walsh, that said both Pickford and Keanebwill be England mainstays for years!!
John G Davies
31 Posted 18/06/2019 at 19:17:02
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/20/football-transfer-rumours-harry-maguire-to-manchester-city

That's where I seen it Steve. I can't vouch for anyone else.

Tony Abrahams
32 Posted 18/06/2019 at 19:28:31
Just googled Kelvin McKenzie's Wikipedia page John G, and he says he was misled by a Tory MP, and David Duckenfield, who even after a massive enquiry, still found a way to stay out of jail.

“In the name of the father” a film, about Gerry and Giuseppe Conlan, the judge said if hanging still existed, they would have both been hanged for treason, which is exactly how I feel about the powers that be regarding Hillsborough.

McKenzie worked for Murdoch though, so why was Sky TV exempt?

Paul Burns
33 Posted 18/06/2019 at 19:36:21
Because they're one of Liverpool FC’s biggest benefactors and it’s forbidden to criticise the home of hypocrisy.
John G Davies
34 Posted 18/06/2019 at 19:39:37
"They all piss in the same pot"

An old but true saying Tony. The people fought long and hard for justice for their families. All to no avail when the establishment gathered the wagons. An absolute fucking disgrace the way they were allowed to do it.

Tony Abrahams
35 Posted 18/06/2019 at 20:21:52
The home of hypocrisy? I believe they are opening their own website called “Ticketsnatchers” although it’s probably just another rumour going round!
Bobby Mallon
39 Posted 19/06/2019 at 06:08:21
I can’t believe some on here. We kept 14 clean sheets and it was not al down to zouma. Kean is a bloody good defender stop trying to get him out.
Si Smith
40 Posted 19/06/2019 at 17:10:24
On Columbia and Mina for a minute, I wonder if it would be possible for Mina to convince Rodriguez to jump onboard at the blues on a loan deal.

His wages are very high but hes undoubtedly a top talent and would look great in Everton blue.

Might be over pushing but imo we should be looking to set standards high !


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