Soria: I wasn´t angry with my players

Bolivia coach Mauricio Soria took exception to the insinuation he was angry with his players, after their 0-0 draw with Mexico at the Copa America.

Marcelo Martins Moreno came closest to scoring in their Group A opener in Vina del Mar, however, the fixture ended goalless to leave the two nations behind pace-setters Chile (three points).

When asked if he was unhappy with missed chances from his side, Soria replied: “I think you [the media] normally see some rare things during the matches. 

“I wasn’t angry. 

“I was happy with my players and I tried to support them. 

“I think our players did a great job and they were focused for the entire match.”

Bolivia continued their bid to build respect in international football, despite the country’s winning drought in competitive matches extending to eight games.

“I think we need to improve that we want to show our skills on the pitch as a national team and country,” Soria said. 

“We are very happy with our job done today and hopefully this is the beginning of being respectful in the future as our country deserves.”

Soria indicated he did not want to alter his starting XI too much before their clash against Ecuador in Valparaiso on Monday.

“We need to focus on our recovery because we did a great job tonight,” the 49-year-old said. 

“We will try to recover all our players in these two days before the next match in order to face Ecuador with this determination and later against Chile too.”