Coach Arthur Elias has been studying France extensively, Brazil’s opponent this Saturday in the fight for a spot in the semifinals of the Paris Olympic football tournament. He has analyzed several videos in the last 48 hours. For him, one of the host team’s strengths is their counterattack. However, this is just one of the game situations that France tends to create.
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“It’s a great team, they’re playing at home, and they have excellent athletes—not as victorious as the Spanish team in recent times, but they are strong in counterattacks and set pieces. They are well-organized tactically and very strong in duels. We are preparing to neutralize those strengths.”
To counter the French team, Arthur wants the Brazilian players to work well on their passing sequences and to be more objective when attacking. “It’s about seeking chances and taking advantage of them. It will be an open game until the end.”
He explained that the coaching staff’s decision to forgo training this Friday was due to the physical fatigue of the players.
“We came from a match that had 20 minutes of stoppage time and where we played almost 70 minutes with one player less. Then there was a four-hour trip from Bordeaux to Nantes. And it’s very hot here. So we found it more convenient for them to do some recovery work at the hotel, in addition to participating in meetings.”
Arthur believes that the adversities faced by the team in the group stage of the competition were well absorbed by the players and served as a learning experience. “We grow this way, and in this psychological aspect, I believe they are better prepared than when they arrived in France.”
