Right-back Daniel Alves highlighted this Monday (5) the great moment of Argentine star Lionel Messi, who may be on the way to Brazil with Alviceleste in the semifinals of the World Cup in Qatar, but asked for concentration in the quarterfinal game against Croatia.
“Everything goes through Messi’s feet, he’s in a brutal moment. He’s one of the best players in this competition,” said Daniel of his former Barcelona teammate.
“But we are not here to choose an opponent (…) We cannot think about the semifinals because we are in the quarterfinals. Out of respect for Croatia, we have to be focused on this game. They have a lot of quality and deserve 110% of our attention”, added the Brazilian side.
Daniel, 39, came on in the 18th minute of the second half of Brazil’s 4-1 victory over South Korea this Monday, in the round of 16.
“I’m happy to have played a few minutes and helped to reach the goal,” he said.
After the surprising defeat by Cameroon in the last round of the first phase (1-0), with a team full of reserves, Brazil took just seven minutes to open the scoring against the South Koreans, through Vinicius Junior.
According to Daniel, the stumble against the Cameroonians helped the team avoid overconfidence against South Korea.
“It was thanks to the team that played against Cameroon that today we had more intensity, a higher pace,” he said. “Everything is part of a process that people don’t understand, but we who are here know how to do things”.
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