“Ecuador will not go out to speculate” against Paraguay, said Tuesday the coach of the 'Tricolor', Gustavo Alfaro, who has the World Cup in Catar-2022 at his fingertips, but his colleague from the 'Albirroja', Guillermo Barros Schelotto, indicated that he will not make it easy in Ciudad del Este.
“We have our way of playing,” Alfaro told reporters after the practice of the team. “Ecuador did enough merit not to depend on anyone, which is what I asked the players from day one,” he said.
“We have to try to end the same way (...). Ecuador will not go out to speculate,” he said.
Third with 25 points and 10 goals in favor of difference, Ecuador will be a visitor on Thursday in Ciudad del Este (330 km east of Asunción) to face the eliminated albirrojo team led by Barros Schelotto, in a match of the seventeenth and penultimate date of the South American qualifier.
- Warning of the 'Twin' -
But Ecuador cannot ignore the warning of the 'Twin'.
“We trained to win the match,” said the Argentine coach at a press conference.
“Once I know how everyone is physically doing, I'm going to say the team I have in mind,” he said.
Barros Schelotto admitted that Thursday's rival “is doing very well (prepared)”.
“With one point he will be in the World Cup and he will surely want to achieve it against Paraguay. He has quality footballers” to do it “and a technician with a lot of experience,” he pondered.
However, he said that the Albirroja, eliminated from the race to Qatar, will start from now on its transition to improve its position in the next tournaments, the Copa America that is approaching and the World Championship-2026. Barros Schelotto has a contract until 2024 with the option of extending it.
- Face to face xeneize -
Thursday's match will face two former Boca Juniors technicians.
Alfaro assumed command of Ecuador in August 2020 to replace Jordi Cruyff. Taking the 'Tri' to the fourth World Cup in its history (it was in Korea-Japan 2002, Germany-2006 and Brazil-2014) “will be the most significant event in my 30-year career,” he stressed optimistically.
The 'Twin' took the reins of Paraguay to replace Eduardo Berizzo in October 2021, after his compatriot left Albirroja in eighth place after the 4-0 defeat to Bolivia in La Paz.
On the last date, scheduled for Tuesday, Paraguay will travel to Lima to face Peru and Ecuador will host Argentina in Guayaquil.
- Like a final -
The Ecuadorian attacker of Brighton from England, Jeremy Sarmiento, acknowledged that for Tricolor the match with Paraguay “will be like a final”.
“They're going to try to lock us up so we don't do anything. They're going to give everything they've got. We are going to focus on ourselves and try to qualify in this same match,” he observed.
Before the penultimate round of the heats, Brazil has 39 points, Argentina 35 (both already qualified); Ecuador 25, Uruguay 22, Peru 21, Chile 19 and Colombia (17).
Paraguay is second to last, ahead of Venezuela, with 13 points.
FIFA gives out 4 places for Conmebol and a fifth place subject to a playoff against a rival from the Asian continent.
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