Copa America 2011: Things are not Going as Plan says Argentina Coach Sergio Batista

Sergio Batista: Under Pressure

After a second successive draw against Columbia, Copa America 2011 host-Argentina has their chance of making it to the next round hanging in balance. Messi and Co. still remain without a win in group A, after coming from behind to level the score 1-1 against Bolivia in their opening game. They could gather just two points from two matches.

“The things are not going the way they were in the friendly matches,” Coach Sergio Batista told the competition’s official website. “No one expected this kind of game, nothing came out the way we expected,” he said following the 0-0 draw with Colombia.

Moreover things are burning for the Coach as he will be the men under pressure when his side faces Costa Rica on Tuesday morning (06:15 AM IST). A win might see them through to the second round while anything sort of three points would mean an early and embarrassing exit for the host and the tournaments hot favorites.

However, Batista is still confident that his team will make a strong comeback in the deciding match against Costa Rica and maintains that he will not make any major changes to the team.

“I remain confident about these players, they are are very good. We do not require major change; we will play with two defensive midfielders and maybe one more winger”.

“We have a game against Costa Rica, and we can have five points to qualify. We need to keep calm, think it is a final and come out with this mentality.”

When asked about Messi not living up to expectation, the coach explained that “he has no space because opponents know how to play and close in the defense”.