Venezuelan national team coach Fernando Batista shared his thoughts after the loss to the United States, highlighting the importance of the year ahead for the Venezuelan team.
“No one likes to lose, but we knew that this match was an opportunity to evaluate the players. Some of them wore the national jersey for the first time in this match,” Batista said during the press conference post-game event held in Fort Lauderdale.
“Matches like this also offer valuable lessons, even in a negative result,” added the coach.
Venezuela suffered a 3-1 defeat against the North American team, a match in which nine players made their debut for the senior national team.
Batista praised Wuilker Fariñez, who was back in the starting XI after two and a half years: “We know the quality of goalkeeper he is. He came back in goal and performed very well.”
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“Wuilker made an excellent decision to return to competition in Caracas. What he needed was playing time, and he is doing that extremely well at his club. We have confidence in Wuilker, alongside Romo, both goalkeepers display a high level,” he underlined.
The coach also described the challenges that await the Venezuelan national team from March: “We are entering a decisive year; we are only one point from the play-off position and four or five points from qualification direct.”
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