“It was extremely good to have lost at the beginning of the tournament,” said Rodrigo De Paul, ahead of the Australia move

Rodrigo de Paul underlined that the great responsibility he feels in Qatar 2022 prevents him from truly living the experience of a World Cup, even if he does it in a particular way and over time he will really appreciate it.

“I didn’t have fun with Saudi for what happened or Mexico for all the stakes; with Poland, a little. I have fun in my own way. I was able to enjoy it on Friday we were with family. I will evaluate it later but now the responsibility is so big that it doesn’t allow us to have fun even if I do it my way,” said the midfielder before facing Australia in the round of 16.

“We’ve seen Australia a lot, we’ve been watching the videos since Thursday. Since there’s little time between one game and another, we have to work more on that than on the pitch. It will be a match similar to the one in Poland. When we attack we will have to defend ourselves. The work from the center to the back will be important. I see it similar to the last day,” she analyzed.

“It’s a very fast team, with tall centre-backs. We don’t have to make fouls near the box and with fast wingers. It’s their forte. We have to be very careful in that part of the pitch so as not to make mistakes,” added the Atlético de Madrid, which has ensured that the albiceleste is “physically well”

“Physically fine, it’s an atypical case only on Thursday and Friday at rest. I don’t know why it happened like this. We are fine, insisting on recovery to continue as we are doing,” he said.

De Paul acknowledged that the loss to Saudi Arabia had a positive impact on Argentina as it brought to reality a team that had played many games without losing.

“It was good to lose, I agree. We are in a situation we were not used to and there you see the character and what kind of group we are. We understood that it was a particular situation and that the team was the same as always. It’s not an easy World Cup. Germany and Belgium were left out and Spain had a tough time. It’s been a tough few days but seeing him now I think this defeat was positive.”

Individually it is comfortable. It goes from less to more. “One depends on how the team plays. The way I interpret matches is related to the team. That’s how I work. I’ve gone from less to more. I feel good, the coaching staff gives me confidence and I always prefer to play at ninety” minutes It’s going well for me, my teammates are very good and the group is responding.”

The contribution of veterans who have already played in a World Cup is essential in the Argentine team. “Since I arrived, veterans with World Cup experience have helped us. They take all the responsibility, but the rest of us have to take responsibility too. We are happy with everything they give us.”

De Paul shared the midfield with several players: Leandro Martínez, Guido Rodríguez and Enzo Fernández. “We always train together day by day and we change and get to know each other. I play a lot of games with Leandro, Guido and Enzo have also recently joined, very well, I try to help him. There is a high middle level and we try to exploit it “, he concluded.