Corinthians stars Paulinho and Danilo have described the pressure on the players during the Club World Cup and admitted that their victory over Al-Ahly was hard-fought.
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The Brazilian pair helped their side overcome the African champions 1-0 in a closely contested game at the Toyota Stadium.
Attacking midfielder Danilo has revealed the game against Ahly was difficult as the Egyptian side passed the ball and attacked well.
He said: “There’s no easy match nowadays. Their team had quality and knew how to pass the ball.
“They didn’t have possession during the first half, but came forward in the second.
“We wasted too many attacks in the second half, but did well in defence.”
Brazil international Paulinho echoed his teammate’s views and is now looking ahead to Sunday’s showpiece final in Yokohama, but believes Corinthians must improve on today’s performance.
He said: “There was anxiety, which is normal, from players and the fans. But we wanted to reach the final, we achieved this and know we must work hard to have a good game.
“We’ll have to retain more possession, and have balance throughout the match. We have to retain the ball in both the first and second half.”
The Timão will take on Champions League winners Chelsea or Mexican side Monterrey for the title, depending on the outcome of Thursday’s game, and Paulinho believes facing either side will make for a good final.
“There’s no such thing as picking the opponent. Whoever comes, I’m sure it’ll be a great final,” he concluded.
