Uruguayan football coach Diego Alonso expected a “balanced match” against Portugal this Sunday, “as they all have been” in the 2022 World Cup, praising the “variability” of options in the Portuguese team.
“We respect all opponents. We have already seen the balance verified in the matches of this World Cup. In fact, Portugal also had a hard time against Ghana. We want to win, that’s what we’re here for, but we know that everyone gives their best and that any result is possible.he said at a press conference.
Alonso, looking ahead to the Group H second round match scheduled for Monday (7pm), highlighted the “deep knowledge” the Portuguese players have of each other, combined with Fernando Santos’ longevity at the helm of the ‘quinas’.
“They have great variability in the game, it’s a complete team, very good. Besides all the individualities they have, they still have a coach who has guided them for a long time. But we also have our weapons, our virtues, which making us dangerous for a while,” said the 47-year-old former footballer, who played for clubs such as Valencia, Atlético de Madrid or Peñarol.
Diego Alonso, who replaced the legendary Óscar Tabárez at the helm late last year plowstill refused that there is any point of comparison with the duel between the two teams at the 2018 World Cup, in which the Uruguayans won 2-1 and eliminated the Portuguese formation in the round of 16.
“All games have different stories. I don’t think this game will ever be the same. There are many different players of that height. We will try to be competitive and win a game that will certainly be very balancedhe assumed, as having at his disposal Sporting supporters Coates and Ugarte and former Benfica player Darwin Núñez “is not an advantage” in terms of knowledge about the Portuguese team.
Bentancur: “Ronaldo is a huge person”
For his part, midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur said Portugal national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo is “a huge person” so he hopes to see him again on Monday, in the Portugal-Uruguay encounter, of the second round of Group H of the World Cup 2022.
The 25-year-old midfielder, currently employed by Tottenham, shared the dressing room with Ronaldo at Juventus, Italy, for three seasons, and revealed he has yet to speak to his former team-mate at the World Cup in Qatar. orphans who hope to greet him at Lusail Stadium, stage of the match in the second round.
🇧🇷I haven’t talked to him [aqui no Mundial no Qatar]🇧🇷 The last time I spoke was when I played against Manchester United. We always had a good relationship. It’s a great person tomorrow [segunda-feira] I will greet you and let’s give you a big hug”, said the midfielder during the press conference looking ahead to the match.
As for central Pepe, who will initially play for Portugal, Bentancur spoke of the FC Porto centre-back’s “incredible career”.
“We all know Pepe. An incredible player with an incredible career. Facing him will be a challenge for us, but we have our guns. Let’s try to see what his weaknesses are and attack from that side.”, he pointed.
To negate the good collective of the corner team, the idea is to “score on top”, to make the Portuguese players think.
“They have very important players, but so do we and they arrive in top form for this World Cup. We are going to have a compact defense because they know how to break the lines well. We can’t let them think too much and we always have to on top. Guns, we have a good counter-coup,” he predicted.
Source: DN
