KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa admitted his team were far from their best after securing a 1-0 win over world number 142 Dominican Republic in an international friendly match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, here, last night.
Bielsa said the South American side deserved to win but felt the opponents were more satisfied with their performance.
“What the match leaves us with is that the opposing team should be more satisfied with their performance than we are with ours. What I mean is that the victory was fair but I imagine the rival team is happier with how they played than we are with how we played.
“In other words, I think that while we deserved to win, the rival played above their potential and we played below ours, below our own capabilities and resources,” he told a post-match press conference, here, last night.
In last night’s clash, 26-year-old midfielder Ignacio Laquintana marked his debut in style after emerging as the match-winner for La Celeste with a decisive second-half strike to salvage pride for the world number 15 side.
Uruguay were without several key players due to injury and health reasons including Atletico Madrid’s Jose María Gimenez, Al-Hilal striker Darwin Nunez, Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, FC Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, and Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte.
After facing the Dominican Republic, Uruguay will wrap up their tour in Malaysia against Uzbekistan at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka on Monday (Oct 13).
“Given that Uzbekistan have already qualified for the World Cup and with the motivation brought by the arrival of a new coach, we believe the match will be quite challenging,” Biesla said.
Meanwhile, the former Leeds United manager was full of praise for the match venue tonight.
“The stadium is beautiful and I didn’t encounter any difficulty nor do I have any criticism of the stadium where we’ve played,” said the 70-year-old Argentine coach.
-- BERNAMA
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
