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Technical assistant Leandro Cufré, who will be on the Venezuela bench against Brazil on Thursday due to the suspension of Fernando Batista, tried to reduce the pressure when Vinotinto has gone six games without winning in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
“We have the obligation to compete, not the obligation of the result. The result will be a consequence of what we do,” Cufré, 46, said this Wednesday at a press conference.
In the midst of that streak, the Venezuelan team has fallen to eighth place, with 11 points.
“I am very clear about the responsibility that comes with being in charge of the team (…), but we are a working team,” Cufré said about the role he will have at the Maturín Monumental Stadium due to the suspension of 'Bocha' Batista.
Venezuela will not have Yeferson Soteldo, punished for one date due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
“He is a player with hierarchy, a player today who is irreplaceable (…), but we are going to put a team on the field that is going to compete and surely whoever plays is going to do very well. We are betting on the team, not to a player,” said Cufré.
The Argentine avoided marking the clash against Brazil as a “key match.”
“All the games for us are key: this one, the previous one too and the one that comes after too,” said Cufré.
“They have players of a high hierarchy, a lot of category (…). We are going to find a Brazil trying to attack and we have to neutralize it and attack it,” he said. “We are not going to wait for what Brazil does, we are going to go out into the field to propose. No wait, but be intelligent.”
Venezuela will play on Tuesday, as a visitor, against Chile.
“We all know the great quality that Vinicius Jr has and not only him, but all the players in Brazil, but we are focused on what we can do,” said right back Jon Aramburu, a Real Sociedad player in Spain. .
“You have to be 100% focused. These are players you can't give a second to think,” Aramburu warned, however.
“The group is emotionally very motivated. It is a nice challenge,” he added.
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