Lasarte by qualifiers: “If we add seven or nine points we enter the race”

The coach of the Chilean national team, Martín Lasarte, anticipated what will be the important triple date of October for the Qualifiers to the World Cup ‘Qatar 2022’, showing confidence in being able to count on the start with the midfielder Charles Aránguiz.The ‘Prince’ appeared as the main concern in the ‘Red’ in the face of the clashes with the Incas, Paraguay and Venezuela to end with muscular discomfort the last crossing of Bayer Leverkusen, on October 3. Asked at a press conference by Puente Alto, ‘Machete’ stated that “Charles Aránguiz arrived better than we thought physically. He did a physical test and finished well. If he has no problems he will compete. The idea is to repeat the pair with Pulgar.” As for the situation of Alexis Sanchez, who was not due to injury in the bitter triple date of September, Lasarte said that “Alexis is healthy, but there is the small amount of minutes he has had lately because he comes from an injury. We need Alexis, even this Alexis. In some moments he will be a striker and in others a midfielder, being the nexus of occasions and also a finisher”. Already fully to the challenges with Peru, Paraguay and Venezuela, the strategist of Uruguayan origin indicated that “the South American Qualifiers are very difficult. All matches are difficult. Peru is a good team. We all know the importance of the triple qualifying date. The most important of all for us.” If we beat Bolivia we were in the direct classification zone and then we had a very complicated triple date. Now we are optimistic (…) It would be very difficult to score few points. we quickly entered the race,” he added. In addition, Lasarte installed the restraint regarding what is expected of striker Ben Brereton, who has a great streak of 10 goals scored by Blackburn Rovers at the start of the English Championship League season. It would be carrying him a very heavy backpack. Ben has done well with us. There is a euphoria with him beyond reality. He’s a very young player. I wouldn’t think it’s fair to burden him with that. We know the importance of this triple date. Their share of importance is shared with that of everyone else,” he said. It’s clear that we think of him as a centre forward. At some point they divided the court with (Eduardo) Vargas and complemented each other well. That’s why it’s a shame his absence as well,” he added. Finally, the former coach of the ‘U’ and the UC referred to the absence of Leonardo Gil, a player of great performance with Colo Colo. “I understand that at the level of journalism and the public, there is a taste for a player. Maybe there’s a different assessment of you and me.”

Original source in Spanish