Zubeldía reflects on Fluminense’s derby defeat, backs Cano to start | OneFootball

In a preview of the upcoming semifinal of the Copa do Brasil, Fluminense lost to Vasco 2-0 this Monday at Maracanã, in the 29th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. Despite the defeat, coach Luis Zubeldía defended his team and stated that this match will not affect the game that will be played in the Copa do Brasil.

“It will be in December (Copa do Brasil) and, of course, each club will try to make improvements. As I said at some point, it’s a different tournament, it’s in December, and it’s 180 minutes. If we analyze Monday’s match, we had a good first half, and I think it was even better than theirs (Fluminense). Rayan managed to find space to take two shots on goal, one of which deflected off our defender, and the second was a long-range shot that resulted in the other goal. I think the team had a good first half, for about 15 or 20 minutes,” analyzed Zubeldía.

Cano’s Starting Role

Before the derby, there was anticipation over who would be Fluminense’s striker. In the end, Zubeldía chose Germán Cano and left John Kennedy on the bench. After the match, the Argentine coach defended his fellow countryman.

“Cano is a goal scorer, a very important piece for the team. If he had scored a goal this Monday from the high pressing we did, we would be saying something else. That’s how strikers are. When goal scorers show up and score, we embrace them. When they don’t, we ask for the one who isn’t playing (Kennedy),” said Zubeldía.

PHOTO: MARCELO GONÇALVES / FLUMINENSE F.C.

With the defeat in the Carioca derby, Fluminense remains with 41 points after 28 games, in seventh place. The Tricolor’s next fixture in the competition is on Saturday, when they host Internacional at Maracanã at 5:30 pm (Brasília time), for the 30th round.

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