Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has said after beating Italy in their latest World Cup match that his team weren’t dreaming of qualification after the first group game.
La Celeste knocked the Azzurri out of the 2014 World Cup after defeating them 1-0 and Tabarez said that positioning and effort were the keys to victory.
“Before the England game, we did not ever dream of qualification,” Tabarez said in a post-match press conference as reported by TuttoMercatoWeb.
“We had looked to put in all of our commitment and possible effort. We changed our positioning on the field, looking to counter the virtues of Italy in the middle of the field and the play of [Andrea] Pirlo.
“We knew that they would have two central strikers and therefore we looked to control them [by] change our positioning. Versatility is one of our virtues.
“When there was [Claudio] Marchisio’s expulsion, we looked to put more pressure on the Azzurri and we had the fortune to win.”
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez had bitten Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini but the Liverpool forward was not sent-off and Tabarez did not see the incident initially.
“I would like to see the footage. I did not see the scene and I believe that also the referee did not see it,” said Tabarez.
“For me and all Uruguayans these were the most important things in this match.”
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