Pizzi Warns against Overconfidence in World Cup Qualification

After winning the Copa America title in back-to-back seasons, Chile will be entering into the South American World Cup qualification with a lot of confidence.

However, manager Juan Antonio Pizzi has warned the team against going into games with overconfidence. Chile managed to beat Argentina in both the Copa America finals to lift the trophy. It has been a major surprise given that the likes of Argentina and Brazil were seen as the favourites. The manager took charge of the national team only in 2016 but he was able to retain the success that was under Jorge Sampaoli.

Now, building on the success will be the major task in the hands of Pizzi. After having done well in the South American national competitions, Chile will turn their attention towards the World Cup 2018. The qualification campaign starts in September with an away match against Paraguay followed by a home match against Bolivia a few days later. These two games may lay the foundation for the entire World Cup qualification campaign andPizzi has requested the team to concentrate heavily on this upcoming game. One of the dangers for Chile is that the team may become overconfident as a result of back-to-back title successes. Acknowledging this fact,Pizzi also stated the importance of not being overconfident.

“We can’t hang on what we have done in the Copa America Centenario. There are still many more matches in this qualifying.We aren’t in first place, we are fourth. And if we want to go to the World Cup, we are going to have to make a lot of sacrifices, work very hard and win the points that we need to get us qualified. Arturo’s performance is surprising. He finished the last Bundesliga season at the top level. That makes us very happy to see that he is continuously progressing,” said Pizzi.