Diego Alonso: “We have to let go, I trust my players”

Diego Alonsoselector of Uruguayproclaimed this Monday, after the defeat against the Portugal in World Cup 2022 (2-0), that his team “has to let go”, to become a “brave group, that takes risks, that goes and plays between the lines”; He defended Federico Valverde’s tactical position, “almost the same position he played in the qualifying rounds”, and said he trusts his players.

“We have to let go. The team has to let go and play like the second part, as also happened to us against Korea, beyond the fact that we were not fluid on the day of Korea. Now we are encouraged to play. We have to motivate ourselves to play more, which we have in the playoffs; to be a brave team, that risks, that goes, that plays between the lines, with heads-up in the wings… We have to take risks. Sometimes rivals influence you, they cover you, they know what your virtues are, they try to diminish you. I trust our qualities, the players we have and give them confidence,” he said at a press conference.

For him, his team does not stop doing everything they showed in the qualifiers, with those four wins in a row that pushed him to Qatar 2022. “Rivals are also playing. The intention is there. If you can see when the game starts where we go, where we propose the pressure and the game forward… But the rival also opposes you and resists what you propose. Sometimes it comes out and sometimes it doesn’t”, he declared.

“It’s true that they had more situations than us, I think it was 16 to 11 which marks the statistics, but if we go to the last game (against South Korea, with a 0-0), we had six clear ones. for Korea “We didn’t play well, but we did try to go forward against Korea and today. The opponent is also good, they compete well and it makes you not be in the place where you want to position yourself”, explained the coach.

And defended the position of the middle of Fede Valverde in its two games world. “Federico played in four games with us in the qualifiers in almost the same position. He played more advanced the other day, inside. When he played in the qualifiers, he played double containment, the position where he stands out, if where he had a performance playing with us is that double contention, the same one they saw today”, he said.

“Even the other day he played later, inside, that many times in Madrid play there. Due to the quantity and quality of players that the Madrid, he sometimes plays as an outside midfielder. Federico’s best feature is through the middle. With us he has done a lot in that position. Today he has a shot, the other day two, one on the crossbar… He is unlucky to score a goal. He is a player for us with good qualities that help us to play and when the team performs better he can shine even more”, he explained.

The technician admitted that, upon entering the Giorgian de Arrascaeta Y Facundo Pellistri, “the team improved.” “The game demands it. We need more games. I also think the second half started better than the first half, beyond the fact that we had the clearest chances, they dominated the possession and we were dominant . the spaces, because we play at the times we want”, he explained.

“Sometimes the pressure has an effect and sometimes it doesn’t, but the steals are high. We lost the ball quickly so we had to back off and come back. Later, the team came out more, we recovered more and when those two footballers came in there was more we have imbalance, more inside game and more chances”, he added.

Will the plan change then? Ghana? “We are going to look for victory and we will try to train, either the system or the players who are going to be on the field, looking for what is best for us. That is how we will do it. We will. try give all the tools to the players to do the best possible. I have a lot of confidence in the football players. I am convinced that the next game will be difficult, but we will do everything to win and qualify” , answered of the coach, who considered the 2010 quarterfinal rivalry “different”.