After losing the final of the Women's Copa América, the Colombian National Team begins to think about the replacement and putting together its team for the future.

The Colombian women's national team suffered a tough defeat in the Copa América final against Brazil (3-3 in regular time, 4-4 in extra time, and 4-5 on penalties).

They still haven't won the title, but their eyes are on building their team for the future, which includes the Nations League, qualifying for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, and, of course, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It's time to try again.

Colombia's historic point guard is already beginning to bid farewell to the team. This Saturday's match could have been the final Women's Copa América match for figures such as Catalina Usme, Daniela Montoya, and Carolina Arias, although the national team's all-time leading scorer recently declared that her goal is to bid farewell with another Olympic title and, hopefully, a medal.

“I dream of closing out my professional career at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, where for the first time in history, soccer will have a greater number of women's teams competing than men's, demonstrating an undeniable reality: women's soccer is unstoppable,” Usme said in May of this year.

With this in mind, Marsiglia is beginning to introduce several players who have gone through the youth national team process, some of them very successful, such as the one that ended with a runner-up finish at the 2022 World Youth Championship in India. Linda Caicedo, the star of that team, has long since joined the senior team, as has Ana María Guzmán, both of whom were World Cup participants in Australia and New Zealand two years ago.

But the transition to the senior team has been slower for other players, and that's understandable. In the 34 matches Marsiglia has coached, since taking over at the end of 2023 following the departure of Nelson Abadía, 47 different players have played at least one minute: 24 of them are under 25 years old, and eight of them are still in the U-20 category, including Linda.

Seven of them have already earned a spot on the 23-man squad for the Copa América Femenina, and one of them has surprised everyone, aside from her youth, with her playfulness, speed, and offensive prowess: Valerin Loboa, a forward for Deportivo Cali, who is just 18 years old. She joined the team on the final FIFA round and earned her spot.

“I've known her for a long time, since youth tournaments. Despite her size, she has outstanding technical ability. We compare her to Paloma Zuluaga; they have similar characteristics. She was very young before, and her position was occupied by Karla Torres. She's a very important player to look forward to. I have no doubt she'll soon be at a top club. She has a huge future,” Marsiglia told Blu Radio's Blog Deportivo.

In goal, Marsiglia again replaced the experienced Katherine Tapia, but has two young players lining up. One, Natalia Giraldo, was on the roster and was injured shortly before traveling to Ecuador, and the other, Luisa Agudelo, who replaced her at the last minute in the Copa del Rey squad and, at 18, already has two caps for the senior team and a runner-up finish in the U-17 World Cup.

The touch of youth has also reached the defense, with the inclusion of Mary José Álvarez, who was a star at the U-20 World Cup in Colombia last year, and Yirleidis Quejada Minota, who, at 22, has already made the leap abroad: she plays for Pachuca. Quejada aims to challenge Daniela Caracas for the position and, when she returns, Manuela Vanegas.

Marsiglia also began giving minutes to two players who had been lining up for a while and who had played a couple of games with Abadía: one, Liced Serna, who was in youth development and won gold at the 2022 Bolivarian Games, and the other, Ilana Izquierdo, who arrived to be a starter, having just turned 23, ahead of the historic Daniela Montoya, who continues to contribute in terms of leadership.

The attack seems covered by the golden trident that is in Europe, made up of Catalina Usme (who finished her contract with Galatasaray), Linda Caicedo (established at Real Madrid) and Mayra Ramírez (a great figure and champion with Chelsea).

However, there are already two players who are beginning to contribute significantly: Loboa and Wendy Bonilla, also 23 years old, with a U-17 and U-20 World Cup under their belts, and already transferred abroad from América to play for Pumas.

Marsiglia left out several young players this time around, such as María Camila Reyes, Karla Torres, Gisela Robledo, and Gabriela Rodríguez. Others who have been with the team for years and are in the under-25 bracket, such as Manuela Vanegas, a standout performer at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, who is preparing to play again, this time in England. Or Ángela Barón, who, at just 21, finished her second Copa América and was still lining up behind the starting center backs, Daniela Arias and Jorelyn Carabalí. Or Manuela Paví, who will turn 25 in December and has earned a significant amount of playing time since Marsiglia's arrival, which helped her reach English football. Colombia continues to consolidate its position as one of the powerhouses of women's football in Conmebol, with adequate succession.