Hi people
My first year as Bolivia saw me play just 4 games in the qualifying and there wasn't really any hope of qualifying. Also we had 3 friendlies. Here is the qualifying table after 14 games when I take over.
14 Games in
So my first game was against Peru in a friend ly and things didn't go too well. To be fair they were all over us and deserved their late winner
Peru 2-1 Bolivia
My second match was against Paraguay away and a loss would end any hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. We were outfought and outplayed in all departments and lost heavily. I wasn't expecting the team to be so bad but I hoped for an improvement in future games.
Paraguay 6-1 Bolivia
Next up was against Ecuador at home and although we lost I was a bit more convinced by this teams quality as we started to match them in an attacking sense. We still need to work on the defence so I am going to employ 2 defensive midfielders with 3 attacking midfielders two of them wide and one just off the striker.
Bolivia 2-4 Ecuador
With just two qualifying matches left we faced Brazil. I wasn't expecting much from my team but the final score was fantastic. We defended as a team and it showed as they only had 2 clear cut chances which we equalled. Our best game of 2009.
Bolivia 1-1 Brazil
Our final qualifying game was against Peru which I was expecting maybe to end on a win. However they weren't the same team I saw draw to Brazil and we lost quite convincingly 2-0. We then played friendlies against Albania which we drew 0-0 and Antigua and Barbuda which we won 2-0 to secure my first win.
Bolivia 0-0 Albania
Bolivia 2-0 Antigua and Barbuda
The final qualifying table was this.
Final Table
OK thats about it. 2010 will just have friendlies before 2011 where we will have Copa America and the start of World Cup 2014 qualifying
Thanks for reading
Matthew
I guess you were quite disappointed to see the team finish last but building a strong national team is a very long process. Good luck for the Copa America!
ReplyDeleteThere's not much you can do to be honest. Boliva seem to have a really poor team... Hopefully some good youth players will come up through the ranks to make your team stronger! Goodluck in the Copa America.
ReplyDelete@ Johnny
ReplyDeleteYeah it was disappointing but I was really using those games to try and work out the best tactic. 2010 will be mostly the same with 7 friendlies I think.
@ tuckersears
I agree I was surprised at the lack of quality. Hopefully I will have a good youth setup in Bolivia :)
Hi Matt, sorry to know that you finished last. But i think that will only motivated to improve and strengthen the squad. Hopefully your game will generate some quality players for you. Good luck.
ReplyDelete