Begin typing your search...

    Dunga emphasizes on possession

    Brazil head coach Dunga vowed his team would show Ecuador the respect they had earned ahead of their Copa America opener, keeping the ball to survive the California heat.

    Dunga emphasizes on possession
    X
    Brazil coach Dunga (left) during a training session ahead of their match against Ecuador

    The teams meet at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl on Saturday with Ecuador riding high in World Cup qualifying, while the Selecao languish mid-table and have not dominated the global game for a decade. 

    “The Ecuador team have been playing together a long time. It’s a fast team, a strong team which marks very well. It’s a team that knows how to play collectively,” Dunga told reporters. Both teams went through the gears in their final training sessions with southern California sweltering in 96 degrees fahrenheit (36 degrees celsius). The forecast is for a slight cooling around kick-off but with the humidity cranked higher, and Dunga, 52, said.

    “Playing at high altitude in Ecuador is always complicated but this will be a rather different game, because it’s going to be hot,” said Dunga. “Many players are just coming off their regular season with their teams. I think it’s going to be about possession.” 

    Under the direction of Dunga, who won Copa America twice as a player and managed the team to their last triumph in 2007, Brazil are looking to improve on recent poor form. 

    Between 1997 and 2007, they won four out of five editions of the tournament, but they limped out at the quarter finals in Chile last year, repeating their 2011 performance. 

    LIVE ON TV 

    BRAZIL VS ECUADOR, 7.30 AM LIVE ON SONY ESPN, AND SONY ESPN HD

    Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!

    Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!

    Click here for iOS

    Click here for Android

    migrator
    Next Story