NO FITNESS CONCERNS

Uruguay national team manager Oscar Tabarez has dismissed the concerns that the team is extremely short on fitness at the moment. Uruguay conceded a late equaliser at the hands of Venezuela in a recent World Cup qualifying match.


Uruguay national team manager Oscar Tabarez has dismissed the concerns that the team is extremely short on fitness at the moment. Uruguay conceded a late equaliser at the hands of Venezuela in a recent World Cup qualifying match.

Uruguay managed to get in front after a goal from Inter Milan striker Diego Forlan. They dominated most of the match against Venezuela, but were undone in the final few minutes of the match after the own goal from Diego Godin. Diego Godin was under pressure after the cross from Luis Suarez. Following the match, a lot of the attention has been on the fitness of the players.

Most of the Uruguay national team players come from Europe after having played a long and hard season, while it is certainly not the case with the Venezuelan players. However, Oscar Tabarez has dismissed suggestions that the team are extremely tired and that he should freshen the team with new players ahead of the next match. Uruguay will next be playing against Peru, who were beaten in the recent match against Colombia 1-0. Uruguay have not lost a match against any opponent in the last 12 months, which is an outstanding record that includes 16 matches.

“The other day we didn’t get the result and we have taken away certain lessons since the situation could happen again. We have to be better prepared; not just conceptually, but also through training in the week to prepare possible alternatives that we can use during the match. We are not as good as Cristiano Ronaldo just yet. We have shared scientific data with the footballers that goes against what we felt about the game and what a lot of people had commented on, like the team getting tired, that we were exhausted. In just one period of the game, from the 60th to the 75th minute, did [Venezuela] beat us in terms of intensity,” said Tabarez.