Enrique Vela rates Paraguay's chances
Vera eyeing next round now
Posted: 2010-06-20 20:35
Paraguay midfielder Enrique Vera believes his team has what it takes to reach the knockout stages at the World Cup.
Vera played a starring role in the South Americans’ comfortable 2-0 win over Slovakia in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon, scoring a beautiful goal just before the half-hour mark and being named Man of the Match.
“It was a tough match, especially in the first half. But we knew that playing against Slovakia was not going to be a stroll in the park. The Slovakians are difficult opponents and they didn’t go down without a fight,” Vera says.
“I think we won the match in the midfield. We studied their game very well and followed the instructions from the coach. Our plan was to score first to unsettle them and it worked well.
“Now our focus is on the next game against New Zealand. We'll play that match like it's a cup final. We believe we could advance to the next round of the tournament,” he adds.
Meanwhile, coach Gerardo Martino praised his players for a job well done. “I’m proud of my players. They played extremely well against a tough side. Now we are getting closer to our objective which is to reach the next stage.”
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