Brazil hoping to ease 2014 World Cup pain against Argentina
Belo Horizonte, (Brazil) Nov 8 (IANS) Beijing Guoan midfielder Renato Augusto believes a victory for Brazil against Argentina here on Thursday will go some way to erasing the memory of the Selecao football team’s worst ever World Cup defeat.
The World Cup qualifier between the South American giants will mark Brazil’s return to the Mineirao stadium following their humiliating 1-7 semi-final defeat to Germany at the 2014 World Cup, reports Xinhua.
“Even though I didn’t play in the match, I watched it as a supporter,” said Renato, who has established himself as a crucial member of Brazil’s renovated midfield.
“It was a bad result for everybody. But we can’t allow the players who were part of that to be affected.
“A win would help to make that match less of a talking point. We have to think about the future and not what happened in the past. The scar from that match will remain, but we can only think about what we can change now going forward.”
Brazil are currently top of the South American zone World Cup qualifying standings with 21 points, one point ahead of second-placed Uruguay.
They have won their past four matches under coach Tite, who replaced Dunga after the team’s group stage elimination from the Copa America in June.
“We have to try to keep playing the way we have been but at the same time we know that matches against Argentina are different,” Renato said. “Just because we have won our past four matches doesn’t mean that Argentina are going to be easy opponents.”
The top four teams at the end of the South American qualifying tournament will book a direct berth at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The fifth-ranked team will earn a playoff spot.