Montevideo (Uruguay), Oct 14 (IANS) Diego Forlan has offered a positive appraisal of his first matches in charge of Uruguay's national team, applauding his players' attitude in a recent three-stop friendly tour of Asia.

The Celeste lost 3-1 to Japan in Miyagi on September 24 before beating South Korea 4-1 in Seoul four days later and then cruising past India 6-1 in Kolkata on October 6.

"The feeling was great," Forlan told a news conference on Tuesday. "The team showed its quality throughout. We were able to give debuts to several players and the established ones performed at a very high level. It was a pleasure to be a part of the group."

Forlan replaced Marcelo Bielsa as manager in August, weeks after the team's failure to reach the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup, reports Xinhua.

The 47-year-old, who is also in charge of Uruguay's under-20 national team, said the players had helped him settle into the position. "What gave me the most peace of mind was their backing, their desire to come [to the national team]," he said. "We had talks with them beforehand, and everyone wanted to be there."

The former Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan striker said he was particularly impressed with his team's performance against South Korea.

"Honestly, I believe it had been a long time since I'd seen Uruguay's national team play the way they did against an opponent of a high standard," Forlan said. "We scored some high-quality goals and controlled the tempo from the start. In the second half we could have scored a fifth or sixth goal."

Forlan scored 36 goals in 112 games for Uruguay, winning the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2010 World Cup after scoring five goals to help Uruguay reach the semifinals.

Forlan's coaching experience includes spells in charge of Uruguayan clubs Penarol and Atenas.

--IANS

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