Already surpassed the tough defeat against Chile
The Bolivia national team is fully focused on the match they will have this Thursday against Peru in Temuco
for the quarterfinals of the Copa America.
Coach Mauricio Soria stated that the thrashing "is a thing of the past", and is already keeping an eye on the possible opponent for his team in case of a hypothetical semifinal. "We have already played against Chile, and we got over it quickly. Uruguay has players who do their job in an organized way, and with experience they achieve efficiency. We knew that something could happen that day, what we didn't know was that we would lose 5-0", he said.
Regarding whether this team is capable of replicating what was done in 1997, when they reached the final, Soria indicated that "this team is different from the one back then. At that time, we had the support of our people because we were the hosts. It was a very good time for our football, which was coming off a qualification to a World Cup. Now, we don't have renowned figures, so it can't be compared. We are a spirited team, that can play the whole time in one-on-one battles", he added.
Lastly, the coach said that "the winner will continue doing good things for their country. This is the last match for us, and we have to give it our all. We will try not to make mistakes and capitalize on the opportunities we have in order to achieve what we can, which is to be in the next stages", he said.
To that, he added that "we made changes to preserve players. There is an ideal team, and I can shape the team I want".