Léo Pereira says start v France was no shock, backs Brazil progress | OneFootball

Starting in his debut for the Brazil national team, center back Léo Pereira said his place in the starting eleven was not a surprise and gave a positive assessment of his first experience wearing the senior team shirt, despite the 2-1 defeat to France and his involvement in decisive plays.

The defender highlighted the high level of the opponent, the intensity of the match, and described the clash as an important learning experience at the start of his journey with the national team, which will have a chance to respond to the fans next Tuesday, when it faces France.

“Ever since I came here, I already knew there was a possibility I would get minutes, so it was no surprise to me. I had in mind that I could indeed play in one of the two games. It came in the first one and I think that, regardless of who is on the field there, Marquinhos, Magalhães, Bremer, Ibañez, Danilo, I think everyone is doing their best and prepared to do their best for the national team, for the people, and I definitely always want to be playing, I always want to be doing my best for this shirt, doing better for my teammates. It wasn’t the dream debut. No. But I believe I’m calm and I’ll keep working so that I can get more minutes.

Léo Pereira said the context of the match changed over the course of the game, especially in the second half, after a French player was sent off, which gave Brazil more possession and a more attacking approach.

“It’s true that I was involved in both of France’s goals. I’m a defender, I have to be there to defend, but the card doesn’t affect my game. I keep playing the same way. Right at the start of the second half, they have a player sent off, so we have more of the ball, they have less of the ball, and that makes us play more offensively, from midfield forward. But I think the second half was a lot about that. In the first half, it’s true that we played in a mid-block there and we didn’t really neutralize some of their moves, but I think for a debut the overall takeaway was good, it helped get rid of that first-game anxiety,” he said.

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“Most important match”

At 30, Léo Pereira got the chance to make his debut for the Brazil national team just a few months before Ancelotti names the squad that will compete in this year’s World Cup. The Flamengo player said the match against France was the most important of his career and spoke about his development wearing the Canarinho shirt.

“Without a doubt, the last match (against France) was one of the most important matches of my career, if not the most important. And we said before the game started that it would be a match, a final for us, and for me it was no different. I think I also saw it as one of the most important matches of my career, because I knew how difficult it was, the responsibility involved in playing that game. And, on the other hand, also with a clear mind, knowing that I had to do what brought me here, what led me to wear this shirt. So that’s what I tried to do and make the most of during this match, and it was definitely one of the most important matches of my career,” he said.

“It’s a huge privilege to be out there on the field and be able to defend and have these matchups that are important. I think I’m in a process, at the beginning of my time with the Brazil national team, and I want to improve, keep improving, and make the most of every opportunity, every conversation here on the field, here within the national team, whether with the staff, with Ancelotti, or with the players,” he continued.

There are things to fix

The center back also assessed his involvement in France’s goal-scoring plays and pointed out what can be improved for the next match.

“On the goal play, it was a very quick moment and against one of the greatest players around today, one of the greatest in terms of speed as well. And it’s a very, very quick moment there. And I believe that the level France’s players are at right now is very high, and you could feel that on the field at some moments. And there, in terms of detail, I think we could have done better. Maybe a better body movement or being a little more tucked in, Bremer and I, but unfortunately that play happened and we know that any little detail there for those attacking players, who are lethal… Now it’s about correcting that detail that happened. A detail that led to France’s goal. So we have to correct it because there’s still a lot ahead of us,” he concluded.

Brazil’s next match

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.