Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli expressed pride at his team’s performance despite seeing them exit the World Cup after an agonising defeat on penalties to Brazil.
“My feeling is of pride in the players and for the Chilean people,” said Sampaoli after Chile held Brazil to a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes and extra time only to succumb 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out. “I am sad because to play like this against the hosts and end up losing in the way we did is obviously very hard for us,” he added.
“The players did everything possible and represented the country in an incredible manner. They will go down in history for the way they represented their country. Brazil never took risks and did not create chances. They seemed to be waiting for penalties and we almost ended up winning the game.”
He added: “We were playing against candidates to win the World Cup and we were close to winning the match. We have beaten Spain and competed equally against Netherlands and Brazil. But sadly you can’t know what is going to happen with penalties. It is more about fortune than anything else.”
Sampaoli said the win will provide Brazil with a huge lift as they seek a sixth World Cup.
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