Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina has leapt to the defence of Tottenham’s Davinson Sanchez, who has been heavily criticised for his performance during the international break.
Despite the Premier League not allowing players to travel to ‘red-list’ countries, Sanchez decided to join up with the Colombia squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile.
The centre-back played all ninety minutes against Bolivia and Paraguay but did not cover himself in glory in either match as his side played out two 1-1 draws.
The Tottenham man picked up a yellow card for time-wasting against Paraguay which meant he would be suspended for the clash against Chile on Thursday.
Sanchez has thus left South America and will now serve his ten-day quarantine in a training camp in Croatia before returning to the UK.
Not only was the centre-back hammered by some in the Colombian press for his performance against Paraguay but he was also accused of deliberately picking up a yellow card in order to return to his club early.
Ospina has now hit back against the criticism aimed at the defender, insisting the 25-year-old has the full confidence of his teammates.
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The former Arsenal goalkeeper told Marca: “The first thing is to highlight the kind of player Davinson is; we can’t forget that.
“The characteristics he has, how he represents us outside the country. He knows that he has the full confidence of the group.
“Criticism will always be there, whoever it is, we live with that, and he has the maturity and experience to deal with those situations.
“He has always come out strong from what can happen off the pitch.”
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Hopefully, Sanchez’s confidence has not been dented too severely by the criticism he has received during the international break. The 25-year-old has hardly put a foot wrong so far this season and it is a shame that his partnership with Dier has to be broken up this weekend due to his quarantining requirements.
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