MURIEL: "THEY'VE BEEN BEAUTIFUL DAYS, I WANT THIS TO START NOW"

Luis Muriel is looking to make up for missing out on the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, being one of the two players to be left out of the Colombia final squad four years ago. He'll have the chance to finally make his World Cup debut this Tuesday against Japan at 14:00 CET in Mordovia Stadium in Saransk. He's understandably excited by the prospect: "They've been wonderful days; it's like living a dream. I'm a little nervous, wanting for the match to come and wanting to enjoy the experience. I want this to start now". 

"Above all Colombia can't underestimate the opponent: we would be making a huge mistake if we did that. Concentration and not losing momentum and confidence in the plan is going to be crucial. We think about Japan and then about what's coming up afterwards". 

"As is the case with any Asian opponent, the principal characteristic is transitions. They're teams who move from attack from defence and defence to attack very quickly. We have to counter that by playing quickly and creating counter-attacks when there are spaces".