Gustavo Alfaro: “Playing against Argentina is a test to learn”

Gustavo Alfaro He managed to successfully overcome the rumors that questioned his continuity as coach of the national team. Costa Rica by managing to classify the America Cup after beating Honduras 3 to 1 in the Concacaf Nations League playoff.

In the match played at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Honduras took the lead after 10 minutes with a goal from Michaell Chirinos, who beat Navas with a cross shot from a distance, which turned out to be an illusion for the Honduran team, which lost control of the ball given the good performance of the rival midfielders in defense and attack.

This way, Costa Rica It will debut in the Copa América on June 24 against Brazil, in group D that also includes Colombia and Paraguay.

After achieving the victory, the Argentine coach spoke about the future of the team and discussed the next duel against those led by Lionel Scaloni.

The selection of Costa Rica Tomorrow it will be Argentina’s second rival on the tour that the national team is making through the United States and regarding this special meeting Alfaro noted: “And now we have a test ahead of us against the world champion. And obviously it is a test to learn, because we are going to try to play the best possible game, but it is the world champion. And we have the privilege of playing against the world champion. world”.

“It is also a game that is part of a lesson. When the president asked me if we were prepared to play with Argentina, I answered yes. We are going to play with Argentina. And no matter what I told him, there was no other thing in my head other than Honduras, at the risk that we could lose, with everything that a press conference would mean if we had lost and having to play with Argentina with the risk that that would mean. But I don’t measure things in those values “I measure them in the growth we could have,” added the Argentine coach.

In addition, he added the importance of facing important teams: “With all due respect, I prefer to play with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, England than to play with other teams. Because what levels us up is the level of the rivals that we have.. No matter how bad we are, we are bad and we don’t get a good result. That’s part of teaching. And that is the time that we have to take advantage of to continue the growth we intend. And that’s what we want there, at the end of the road: to be competitive.”

After the meeting, Alfaro analyzed the beginning of his cycle in Costa Rica: “I had to take a National Team in the middle of a generational change, without time to try and with the obligation to get results. Here, after that game in November, we only met up with everyone again now. And as I told the boys in the previous talk: ‘there are times when you lose, like we lost both games against Panama, in soccer you want revenge the next day, you want to play fast.’ And the selection is merciless in that aspect, because the spaces are very wide.”

“But I told them that for me that was a very profitable and useful time, because it gave me the opportunity to get to know, to get into the idiosyncrasies of football. Costa Rica, to start meeting with the players and start seeing them in some local microcycles that we had or in some friendlies. I want to thank all the clubs in Costa Rica for having given me the opportunity on many occasions to have that chance to count on the players. Without going any further, having suspended the last date so that we can work with the local players,” he added.