Switzerland coach proud of team's performance against Brazil
The Swiss coach, Vladimir Petkovic, expressed his pride in his team after drawing 1-1 against five-time champion Brazil in their debut at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and asked the rest of the teams to take them "seriously".
"We made mistakes, yes, but nothing too bad. We played well, intelligently, I am satisfied. I hope they take us seriously", said the Balkan coach in a press conference. Petkovic recalled that in the last 22 matches, the Swiss national team has only suffered one defeat, a 2-0 loss against Portugal in a qualifying match for Russia 2018.
The coach acknowledged the technical inferiority of his players compared to the Brazilians, but still asked them to "stay calm, believe in themselves, and put more pressure to have more chances", he explained. "I am proud of my team.
Brazil had more opportunities, but we kept hope, and when we could press them and move forward, we did it very well", he said about the game. When asked about a possible foul in the Swiss goal, Petkovic did not want to get into controversy:
"VAR is here to provide answers (...) We have referees on the field, video assistants also watching, so I think everything is clear", concluded the coach.
AFP