Jhon Duran is one of a number of Aston Villa players currently away on international duty, with Colombia kicking off their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign on Friday.
Unai Emery will be spending the international break plotting how to win Aston Villa‘s next few games, starting against Everton on Saturday evening.
Those Villa players that have not been called up by their countries will be being put through their paces at Bodymoor Heath, whilst Emery will hope each of his players that have travelled return it and healthy.
Ollie Watkins pulled out of the England squad due to an injury precaution and Villa fans will hope the break will do their talisman the world of good after a busy summer has coincided with a slow start to the season.
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However, Villa’s other striker has made his mark for his country since joining up with his country, with Jhon Duran playing a key role off the bench for Colombia on Friday.
Jhon Duran provides assist off the bench for Colombia against Peru
Colombia kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign by travelling to face Peru in Lima.
Despite Duran’s fine start to the new campaign with Villa, the 20-year-old watched on from the bench as Krasnador striker Jhon Cordoba was favoured from the start by manager Nestor Lorenzo.
However, with Colombia falling 1-0 down in the 68th-minute, Duran was introduced four minutes later to try and salvage something for his nation.
He was key to doing just that as Colombia instantly looked more threatening before he assisted a Luis Diaz equaliser in the 82nd-minute.
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Following his impact off the bench, Colombian media were full of praise for Duran’s display, with El Heraldo scoring the Villa striker a six out of ten despite playing just 18 minutes, commenting: “Good game for him. He took his chance.
“He had several dangerous plays and always won in the aerial game. He gave the pass to Diaz for his goal.”
El Tiempo did not give Duran a rating due to his limited time on the pitch, but were equally positive about his cameo, saying: “Great offensive presence, won from above, made an assist.”
Jhon Duran could now start against Emi Martinez in Colombia vs Argentina clash
Duran has surely now earned himself a start in Colombia’s next qualifier which is a massive game at home against World Champions Argentina.
This would see the young forward line-up against Villa number one Emi Martinez in what would be a mouthwatering match-up.
Unsurprisingly, Argentina started the long road to their World Cup defence with a win and a clean sheet, beating Chile 3-0 in Buenos Aires on Friday.
An intriguing clash, it will be interesting to see which of the Villa star’s comes out on top should Duran get any quality chances against Martinez on Tuesday.
