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A half-time incentive speech and an acceleration of the pace were the key to Saudi Arabia's victory at the last World Cup against Egypt, said the United States. coach Juan Antonio Pizzi.
The Pizzi team scored in the 95th minute to win 2-1 and finish the tournament despite the fact that both teams failed to progress in Group A.
"We thought that if we could accelerate the pace, we would have more opportunities and that's what we told our players," he told reporters.
"We told them that they had to be stronger in attack … we also played very well on the flanks and I think we deserved the win."
Saudi Arabia was much more dangerous after reaching the 1-1 break, and continued to record its first win at a World Cup since 1994.
Having lost their opening match 5-0 against Russia, they finished third in the group behind Uruguay and the tournament hosts.
Pizzi conceded that his team – the second lowest in the tournament – had sometimes lacked precision but added: "I think that there were really only two opportunities for Egypt, I think that in general we kept them in check.
"It was very hot, you know, and both teams wanted to win, that's why at certain times of the game we played wider and there were more holes on the court.
Pizzi believed that the Saudis had also benefited from the injury problems of Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, the striker having been injured in the ligaments of the shoulder during the Champions League final against Real Madrid in May.
"I think that psychologically, his injury was also difficult for his team," he said.
Pizzi refused to know if he would stay in his job, saying that this decision was not in his hands.
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