The veteran forward set a historical milestone as the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup matchthough he extended a frustrating ten-game tournament goal drought. Reflecting on the tactical errors that allowed the African nation back into the contest, the team acknowledged a drop in intensity.
Dias explained: “Now there are so many analysts talking about the game and drawing conclusions about what went wrong, that in some publications people have already realised what didn’t go so well.
“We scored early and started the game well, you could feel that energy at that moment, but we ended up relaxing and losing our discipline. That made us less efficient, we failed to put the fear into them that we needed to, and the game fell into a strange dynamic.
“We ultimately lost our discipline, and we are well aware of that among ourselves. I only see positive things moving forward.”
He concluded regarding the escalating scale of the public reaction: “I haven’t seen much of what was said. I haven’t seen major criticisms, but when results aren’t the most positive, it’s natural for it to triple.
“However, that doesn’t shake our confidence. The sooner the difficulties arrive, the better; we have to have the ability to keep growing, and I don’t expect perfect scenarios. The most important thing is keeping our feet firmly on the ground.”
