Marquinhos: Small Pitch Hinders Attacking Play, Paquetá Says Brazil Played Well but Didn’t Win

In the opening match of the Copa América, Brazil drew 0-0 against Costa Rica. In the post-match interviews, Marquinhos commented that the small pitch favored Costa Rica’s defensive approach, preventing Brazil from securing a victory. Paquetá, on the other hand, believed that Brazil played well but simply didn’t secure the win.

Marquinhos stated that winning was the team’s objective and part of their plan, but unfortunately, it didn’t materialize. “We knew how to pressure the opponent and we created opportunities in attack,” he said.

He then mentioned that the compact size of the field suited Costa Rica’s defensive strategy. “The small pitch benefits teams that defend more, making it tighter for our attacking game. Creating chances doesn’t guarantee goals, and this match was crucial; not getting off to a winning start means we must aim for victory in the upcoming games.”

Paquetá, however, felt that despite not winning, Brazil had a good performance. “We’re disappointed with the result, although we played a decent match. We had three clear goal-scoring opportunities but failed to score. We executed what we practiced, but it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t win.”

Paquetá emphasized the need to improve Brazil’s attacking efficiency in the following matches. “We had many shots and created chances, but we didn’t win. We need to improve our ability to finish games effectively to secure victories.”