Gustavo Alfaro and a defeat with the United States that hurt to the core
Gustavo Alfaro, coach of Paraguay, recognized that the United States team completely surpassed them in the tactical aspect
The Paraguayan team could not take the ideas that its players had to the field of play and ended up being struck down by the United States in a defeat that hurt to the core and that the Guarani coach, the Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, recognized that they were tactically surpassed.
The Albirroja coach did not make excuses after the defeat suffered against the United States, he detailed the mistakes that cost him dearly in Los Angeles and is already pointing to a quick rethink to keep the World Cup dream alive.
"Obviously, the United States won the game with absolute justice and clarity because we knew that they were a complex rival; because we knew that they had coordination from the start of the game, width, triangulations and deep attacks, that if you were not adjusted defensively, they could make you hurt or, suddenly, transform it into situations that resulted in goals. And I think they surpassed us: they surpassed us on the tactical level, they surpassed us on the technical level and on the physical level as well," highlighted the strategist. Argentinian.
Perhaps the score was the least important, especially because in the first half they were swept off the pitch at the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles, but the pain and frustration was due to the ways in which they fell in their return to a World Cup after 16 years of absence that seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye.
"So, there are a lot of details that we have to adjust. Then, further, the opportunity for goals... A shame about the first one, which was an own goal, furthermore, because at that moment in the game we were good (it was the start of the game); and then the third, which comes at the end of halftime, where sometimes one wanted halftime to come quickly to finish arranging things," he specified.
The Argentine coach had no way of denying the obvious and much less defending the indefensible, to the extent that he recognized that the first half had a lot to do with the psychological impact of the own goal that opened the scoring when Damián Bobadilla put the ball in the net.
But at the same time he wanted to look ahead in the remaining duels against Turkey and Australia, where they must assimilate this blow, correcting the structural flaws to immediately turn the page.
"At halftime we tried to accommodate, more than anything to adjust the issue of the marks, of the fact that we had and did not have what we had also said: if we did not force him to back down, it was very difficult to sustain him. That's why Mauricio's entry, to see if he could partner with Julio; from that partnership, try to see if we could force the United States to back down. We had the chance to go 3 to 1 and, well, it's a shame when they were 7 minutes into the game. discount, who end up scoring the fourth goal,” he said.
Finally, the coach left a message for the future of the group, demanding a quick self-criticism to keep alive the chances of advancing in the competition: "But that takes away from us that, suddenly, the difficulties we had to face this rival and the things that we have to improve. There are a lot of details that we have to try to adjust and that we have to try to improve, because there are two games ahead and we have to work very quickly. So it is a matter of assuming the difficulties we had, assuming the mistakes we had and try to rethink things, because we still have two games and we have to continue fighting to qualify.”

