FC Barcelona midfielder Pedri has not shied away from the “favorites” tag as Spain advance into the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.
In a new interview, Pedri wasn’t shy: “We said from the start that we came here to win it. We were tagged as favorites, and we had no problem accepting that. We are well aware that we are playing very well, but from now on, nothing is going to be handed to us.”
Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 in the round of 16 and are due to play Belgium next. Pedri said that the Spanish team
has “shown” that they can be considered favorites.
“We haven’t conceded a goal yet, and we are a very reliable team. We all work for the team, no one stops running, and that makes us a big family. We have to keep it up,” he said.
Belgium are fresh from handing a beating to the United States, who had made some noise – at least for local media – as a potential dark horse candidate playing at home. The Red Devils made a mockery of such a prediction, swatting away the US like they were mere minnows.
“Belgium has very good players, and Thibaut Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. It is always difficult to score against him, but we also have players who have already scored against him in La Liga, so we know him well,” the midfielder said.
Pedri did not shy away from a potential final against Lionel Messi’s Argentina either, saying he would gladly take part in such a game – but only because that would mean that Spain were in the final. “But first, we have to focus solely on Belgium and not get overconfident,” he said.
