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Mexico's Dos Santos Admits Feeling Pressure
Youngster Jonathan Dos Santos has been hailed as one of the country's brightest prospects but the 19-year-old said he felt pressured by his rapid rise among the national team's ranks.
Mar 17, 2010 10:12:00 AM
Jonathan Dos Santos has yet to make an impact for his club's first team. Property of Barcelona, Dos Santos spends more time playing for Barcelona Atletic than he does playing for Pep Guardiola's side.
But that hasn't stopped him for seeing some valuable playing time with the Mexican national team. Dos Santos was the only foreign-based player called up for Mexico's game against North Korea and is once again being given the chance to claim a spot on the national team.
While "Jona" might seem to have the physical qualities ready to handle such a task, the 19-year-old said he did feel some pressure.
"For a player, there is always pressure," Dos Santos said in a press conference. "For me, to be so young and to be on the national team, well yes, I feel a bit of pressure but I'm also happy because Javier Aguirre has confided in me. I only want to think about (Wednesday's) game, to take advantage of it and that's what is going to help me."
Dos Santos started in Mexico's 2-0 win over New Zealand two weeks ago but has had only one other Mexican national team match to his credit. But Dos Santos is apparently very much in the mix to be at the World Cup.
In order to compete for a spot on El Tri, Dos Santos will likely need to continue missing time with Barcelona. The Catalan giants have a Champions League game slated earlier on Wednesday, but Jona said he felt fine being away from his club.
"I don't feel as if I'm losing anything," Dos Santos said. "With Barcelona, I don't have a lot of minutes and for me to come with my national team is something good."
With regards to a possible World Cup spot, Dos Santos said he is only concerned about the upcoming days and is not thinking too far down the road.
"I want to live day by day, to think first about these three days what I'm with the national team, the game against North Korea and to try and take advantage of it as much as possible," he said.
Goal.com
For more coverage of El Tricolor, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.
But that hasn't stopped him for seeing some valuable playing time with the Mexican national team. Dos Santos was the only foreign-based player called up for Mexico's game against North Korea and is once again being given the chance to claim a spot on the national team.
While "Jona" might seem to have the physical qualities ready to handle such a task, the 19-year-old said he did feel some pressure.
"For a player, there is always pressure," Dos Santos said in a press conference. "For me, to be so young and to be on the national team, well yes, I feel a bit of pressure but I'm also happy because Javier Aguirre has confided in me. I only want to think about (Wednesday's) game, to take advantage of it and that's what is going to help me."
Dos Santos started in Mexico's 2-0 win over New Zealand two weeks ago but has had only one other Mexican national team match to his credit. But Dos Santos is apparently very much in the mix to be at the World Cup.
In order to compete for a spot on El Tri, Dos Santos will likely need to continue missing time with Barcelona. The Catalan giants have a Champions League game slated earlier on Wednesday, but Jona said he felt fine being away from his club.
"I don't feel as if I'm losing anything," Dos Santos said. "With Barcelona, I don't have a lot of minutes and for me to come with my national team is something good."
With regards to a possible World Cup spot, Dos Santos said he is only concerned about the upcoming days and is not thinking too far down the road.
"I want to live day by day, to think first about these three days what I'm with the national team, the game against North Korea and to try and take advantage of it as much as possible," he said.
Goal.com
For more coverage of El Tricolor, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.
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