Colombia boss Nestor Lorenzo likened their 1-0 friendly win over Chile to a World Cup qualifier due to the "intensity" both sides played with.
Lorenzo hails Colombia's fight in 'intense' friendly win over Chile
Colombia edged past Chile thanks to an own goal, and Nestor Lorenzo believes the energy of the match made it feel bigger than a friendly.
While it was a match that sometimes lacked quality, Colombia came out on top to make it back-to-back friendly wins thanks to Guillermo Maripan's first-half own goal.
Luis Suarez and Jhon Lucumi had both fired off target before Colombia found their breakthrough in the 35th minute when Maripan turned into his own net.
Suarez saw a header saved on the stroke of half-time, and Colombia continued to dominate in the second half, though only Jhon Arias was able to test Lawrence Vigouroux in the Chile goal.
Chile offered little threat at the other end, failing to trouble Camilo Vargas with any of their five attempts, but Lorenzo noted that it did not take away from the strong approach by both sides.
"It was almost like a World Cup qualifier, in terms of intensity and the battles that were fought on the field," he said.
"Of course, we all like to win, but there were a lot of inaccuracies. I think we played at a high intensity; we just lacked a bit of control in clear scoring opportunities.
"We fought hard, we defended well, and I think it's a good win."
The two teams combined for just 1.03 expected goals (xG), with Colombia having 10 shots and getting two on target.
Chile did hit the woodwork at the other end, but otherwise both teams struggled to make their mark in the final third.
Lorenzo also noted there were mistakes throughout from his young Colombia side, though he says it is all part of the process.
"The lack of precision doesn't worry me; they are talented players with good technique," he added.
"Our goal is to work on synchronising some movements to achieve a more precise and effective performance.
"I understand that we are doing well. The adaptation of the young players has to happen progressively, gradually, and it has to happen because of the players like Davinson [Sanchez], [Jefferson] Lerma, and Camilo [Duran], who played a great game.
"That's the way it has to be. We have to pay the price, and if we come out on top, all the better. I would have loved to have played much better.
"I know that later on these guys will be less imprecise in the same situations, because that's how you gain experience."
