After the final whistle in the 3-0 victory over Scotland, coach Carlo Ancelotti stated that the Brazilian team performed well as a team.
The players agreed with the commander and praised the group’s evolution since the debut against Morocco.
“It was step by step, but we knew we needed to evolve quickly. Against Haiti we had a good first half and in the second we slept. Today we had two good halves, which makes the game easier”, said right-back Danilo.
“We played very well. Collectively, it was our best game. We controlled from start to finish. We took pressure there, with crosses, but we evolved well. Today’s game we made a lot of progress, but we still have room to improve”, agreed midfielder Bruno Guimarães.
The two emphasized that the composition of the midfield, with Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães and Lucas Paquetá, gave new dynamics to the selection, and Matheus Cunha helped to fill out the group.
“With three in the middle, the team becomes more mobile. Cunha helps a lot as a false number 9. The rival defense was always in doubt of who to mark. I started attacking as number 9. We have to make it difficult for the defense, finding the spaces. Now it’s down to the ground and we’re going forward”, stated Bruno Guimarães.
“I think it’s what gives the team more balance. There was a player missing there. The manager [Ancelotti] was smart to do that”, said Danilo.
Captain Marquinhos also highlighted that the players’ change in philosophy was essential for the evolution shown in the competition.
“The team grew from the first to the second game, and from the second to this one as well. We’ve been saying that it would grow in the competition. The players are adapting, taking the philosophy of their club and becoming more and more fixed on the philosophy that we have here in the Brazilian team, understanding each other and getting along more and more with their teammates. We have a lot of quality in this team, we can achieve great things”, said the defender.
Marquinhos warns, however, that Brazil needs to maintain its growth rate. Even more so now, in the knockout stage.
“We can’t just think that we did our job. We have to have ambition, hunger, to keep working. We have a coach who since the first game has been demanding of us to improve and keep improving.”
IMPORTANCE OF VINI
Regarding Vinicius Junior’s top scoring phase, Marquinhos praised the importance of the striker during the World Cup.
“Vini is very important. I’m very happy to have a player of Vini’s quality. He’s already shown how decisive he is, how much he likes big games. More and more experienced, increasingly understanding his place in the Brazilian team. He’s really been very decisive for us, and we hope he continues like this.”
Scorer of two goals in the World Cup, one of them against Scotland, attacking midfielder Matheus Cunha says he has made a dream come true.
“Being at the World Cup, being able to convince that what we wanted most, we worked the hardest. The first game was difficult, everyone knows. In the second game we were better and, today, I believe we were better than the second. If it continues like this, we will reach our goal”, he said.
Left-back Douglas Santos was grateful for the opportunity to defend the team in the World Cup and revealed a request from Ancelotti after the opening game.
“In these last two games, he [Ancelotti] asked me to go up a little higher [ao ataque] when in possession of the ball. I’m helping Vini, and this will bear good fruit for us. The important thing is not to concede a goal, for the team to consolidate the rhythm and our work.”
