Venezuela coach, Argentine Fernando Batista, said yesterday that with the start of the quarter-finals of the Copa America “a new tournament begins” in which the Vinotinto does not count on a full victory.
“Now a new tournament begins, because you know that you cannot depend on a draw, on a result,” said the coach at a press conference at AT&T Stadium in Texas, where Venezuela will face Canada on Friday.
“We have had a very good group stage, almost perfect. We qualified but we didn’t achieve anything,” explained Batista, who said that having achieved the 9 points in the first phase “does not influence” the match against Canada, although he acknowledged that they are coming in with “confidence.”
Batista also referred to the possibility that the match could be decided in a penalty shootout if it ends in a draw.
“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” said the coach, explaining that it is not the desired scenario for the Vinotinto: “What we are going to propose and put together is a strategy of trying not to get to penalties and being able to decide the match in the 90 or 95 minutes.”
He also said that his team will practice penalty kicks during this afternoon’s training session in Dallas.
“We will work on it today. Because even though you can take a penalty in training, in a match it is totally different, but it is always good to practice it,” he said.
Regarding Canada, Batista said that they managed to qualify in a group that they shared with three CONMEBOL teams – Argentina, Chile and Peru – so they are not a weak rival.
“Their strength is more from the midfield forward. They are aggressive if they find the opponent in a bad position,” said Batista, who also highlighted the wing play of Jesse Marsch’s group.
“BE MORE LETHAL”
Canada coach Jesse Marsch said Thursday he is confident his men will be able to convert their scoring opportunities after having been unsuccessful in group matches.
“I know the goals will come, partly because of the quality we have in attack and partly because we can be explosive enough and we are close to having some very good moments,” Marsch said at a press conference on the eve of their Copa America quarter-final against Venezuela.
“MATCHING THE GREATEST HISTORICAL DATE”
Venezuelan midfielder Yangel Herrera said, on the eve of the Copa América quarter-final match against Canada, that the group’s focus is on reaching the semi-finals to “match the biggest historic event” for La Vinotinto in the continental tournament.
“There is the added incentive that we are 90 minutes away from equalling what Venezuela has done in the history of the Copa America,” said Girona’s Herrera at a press conference at AT&T Stadium in Texas, where the qualifying round will be played on Friday.
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2024-07-05 06:42:20