Argentina midfielder Angel di Maria has claimed that the Argentina players will be able to be more relaxed at the World Cup 2014 compared to Brazil since they do not have the home support. South American teams are expected to receive a lot of support if they progress to the latter stages of the tournament with Brazil having been knocked out. At the same time, those teams will be without the pressure at the initial stages. Di Maria is hoping to take advantage of this fact and do well at the World Cup 2014.
Compared to other teams like Spain and Germany, Argentina have been given a relatively easy group with no major title favourites being alongside them. Argentina will be up against Nigeria, Bosnia, and Iran at the World Cup. They are expected to top the group without any major difficulties. Di Maria comes on the back of a title winning season with Real Madrid. He won the Champions League title with the Spanish team. As a result, he will be in a buoyant mood ahead of this tournament. The 26-year-old has stated that this year is proving to be successful for him and he is hoping that it ends with a World Cup title to his name.
“Brazil won the Confederations Cup against Spain, the defending world champions, so they should be confident, but they have more pressure than us. Everyone knows it’s not easy to win [the World Cup] and that, for many years, Argentina haven’t been champions nor reached a final. They are things we have to be relaxed about, knowing we can do it because we have great players, the best in the world at the best clubs in the world,” said the winger, who has been converted into a midfielder by Carlo Ancelotti this season.