Though they had a world-class player on their side. In terms of squad depth, they were superior even without most of their core players.
Also, they ranked much higher than their opponent.
So, why would they worry about a side weaker than them? Sure their recent performance had been outstanding. But even so, it wasn't outstanding enough to make them worried.
Rather many among the veteran players didn't even put much importance to this match. Their eyes were set on the match against Brazil.
In their words, it was like a warm-up.
Even for the coaching staff, it was a match to test their newly prepared tactics.
However, it didn't mean that they were taking this match less seriously. They were as serious as they would be during the World Cup matches.
In fact, the pressure on the coaching staff was rather huge. They lacked their core players. The squad was almost divided. Even worse most were newly appointed coaches.
