Argentine Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, coach of Mexico, was satisfied with the draw against Poland (0-0) considering Argentina’s defeat against Saudi Arabia (1-2) in the opening match of their group , although He assured. that, given what his team did “in the first half”, they deserved to “win the game”.
“It was a game where in the first half we looked more, we controlled it. We deserve to leave with some kind of advantage. In the first half the match was even and we didn’t have a very clear hit, with the clearest in Poland with a penalty after our mistake. With what we did in the first half, we deserved to win the game”, he said at a press conference.
“In the first half, we lacked precision in facing the goal. We were strong, controlled the game… very careful that the opponent did not run, playing on the counterattack. In the second, our attacks came from very isolated players, provoking from the side with ‘Chucky’ and Vega. We need a little more arrival. Only Chávez and Herrera went into the box once… the idea was for them to control the game more”, he continued.
“We didn’t struggle because we didn’t let the opponent run, which is dangerous there. We lack internal circulation. The first half had an intensity that takes some of your legs away, and then there was the question of how far my risk was… three points would be better, but a loss would be worse. The result of the first game was very conditioning,” he said.
‘Tata’ also appreciates the first big surprise of the World Cup, Argentina’s defeat that left all previous Group C calculations at nothing.
“Obviously, that’s shocking to the world. Those results, which can only be achieved in the first phase of a World Cup. That’s what plays in our heads and in Poland. We expected to face a decisive match and the exact opposite happened”, he commented.
“More than what happened in Argentina, we have to play a kind of match. This result doesn’t change. It was like almost a final on the first date, then for all of us, three finals for each of us,” he added. .
In addition, he made it clear that his nationality will not influence much in the days before the game against Argentina next Saturday.
“Those are the things that can happen in our profession. We only think about the welfare of Mexico and that’s why we only think about that”, he answered.
“Argentina will try to find the game because in the last phase it started to work,” he said.
On the other hand, he did not want to focus on the criticism of his figure and praised the Mexican fans who were the crowd of 974 in the stadium.
“I don’t think that’s the important thing. I’ve thought about it for four years and I won’t see it. There’s a stadium full of Mexicans supporting Mexico and it’s something that excites me. The most important thing is the choice and the team. They gave us a message with attitude tonight”, highlighted.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
