‘Tranquilidad’ and ‘anger’, Gustavo Alfaro’s mixed feelings before the Ecuadorian team visits Peru

In training in Ecuador to face Peru next Tuesday there are mixed feelings: “tranquility” and “anger”. That, in the words of coach Gustavo Alfaro, as a result of the 1-1 draw with Brazil last Thursday in Quito, a match in which the Tri “deserved” to be victorious and seal their qualification for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, an objective that he will seek in Lima.

“On the one hand, what I feel is calm,” Alfaro told the media of the Ecuadorian Football Federation. “I know the players are responsive and committed to what they want.”

Against Canarinha at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium, Ecuador added a point that brought it closer to the next World Cup. In a match marked by VAR corrections and Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán, Félix Torres equalized after Casemiro’s goal and allowed the National Team to reach 24 points (+10 goal difference) in third place in the South American qualifier.

“On the other hand, anger, because of the feeling that we did everything to win the game,” continued the Tri coach. “If this team needed or deserved something big, it was to beat Brazil, after all the effort and adversity they had to endure throughout the match. They are mixed feelings: tranquility due to the response of the players and anger and impotence for not having achieved the result”.

Already at the post-match press conference on Thursday, Alfaro had been uncomfortable with the referee’s decisions and the application of technology. “We are shocked by the development of the match, by the strangeness, by all the things that happened. That’s where one comes into the subtleties of VAR, which they see microscopically or look for things to justify one way or the other.. This is taking away the essence of football”, he said then.

This February 1 Ecuador could virtually become the third classified by South America to Qatar 2022

Ecuador worked the weekend in Quito before their trip to Lima, where they will clash with Peru, a team that is fourth in the tie and will also pursue victory at the José Díaz Stadium to get closer to their goal of participating in Qatar 2022.

In case of victory, the Tri will virtually get the ticket to the World Cup for the fourth time in its history. With the draw, they will have to wait for other results on the same sixteenth day – especially that of Colombia, which visits Argentina – or on later dates, in which they will face Paraguay and Albiceleste. (D)