Lorenzo weighs Rengifo at No. 10 and Asprilla on the wing for Peru clash

Without James Rodriguez or Juan Fernando Quintero in the squad, Colombia has spent this FIFA window looking for someone to bring creativity to the attack. It still hasn't fully found that player. Against Paraguay, the team leaned on Yaser Asprilla's dribbling; against Mexico, Jhon Arias shifted into the No. 10 role, but the team never quite found clarity in the buildup.

Now, with Peru as the opponent this Tuesday in Miami, Nestor Lorenzo could have a formula on the table that the national team hasn't tried in this window: Juan Manuel Rengifo as the No. 10 and Yaser Asprilla on the right wing. The coach himself has acknowledged that Arias performs better as a midfielder and that when he's deployed centrally, Colombia creates fewer chances. That changes the picture.

The idea isn't to turn Rengifo into a copy of James or Quintero, but to give the team someone who occupies that space between the lines while Yaser is freed up to do what he does best: take on defenders and create danger out wide. And it's not a blind bet. In the first half of 2026, with Atletico Nacional under Diego Arias, Rengifo already played that role within a 4-2-3-1 featuring two defensive midfielders, wide wingers and Alfredo Morelos as the lone striker. His job was to receive the ball between the opposing defense and midfield, turn and drive toward the box.

The numbers from that stretch back up the idea: 16 games, six goals and five assists, a hand in a third of the team's goals as Nacional finished atop the regular phase standings and qualified for the quadrangular finals.

How the roles would shift

With Rengifo occupying the central space behind the striker and Asprilla starting from the right, each would be closer to his natural fit. Rengifo would link midfield with attack, just as he did at Nacional. Yaser would receive the ball out wide, take on his marker one on one and then look to cut inside. Arias, meanwhile, would return to the left flank, the area where Lorenzo believes he can be most effective, without carrying the weight of being the only creative outlet.

That's where the most interesting part comes in: the partnership between the two. When Asprilla cuts inside toward the middle, Rengifo could show up nearby to offer a passing option and speed up the play. And when Yaser vacates the flank, it would open a lane for the right back to overlap. In essence, it would split among three players the responsibility that has so far fallen on just one.

The two arrive with different cases to make. Yaser is in good form: four goals in six games with Girona, and against Paraguay he was one of the players who most tried to create danger out wide. Rengifo, on the other hand, isn't going through the same moment at Nacional, where Lucas Gonzalez has given continuity to Edwin Cardona and, later, James Rodriguez arrived. That's why the case for his inclusion rests more on what he did under Diego Arias than on his current playing time.

The plan carries risks: Rengifo has never played for the senior national team, and with two attacking-minded players like him and Yaser, the double pivot would need to cover a lot of ground to keep the team balanced. There's also no certainty that Lorenzo wants him at No. 10; he's also been considered as a winger option.

More than a finished solution, it's an alternative Colombia hasn't tried yet. Peru, this Tuesday, could be the first time Rengifo and Asprilla share that role, with the team attacking through a natural No. 10 in the middle, two wide players capable of creating chaos, and a traditional target man up front.