As this summers Euro’s reaches it’s latter stages, will Portugal provide the shock of the summer?
With Portugal already in the semi-finals, and a squad so compatible with each other, you cannot help think that they have every chance of winning.
Any team with Cristiano Ronaldo in it would.. And his arch-rival, Messi, won’t be there to rain on his parade.
After yesterday’s game against the spirited Czech Republic, Ronaldo claimed that Portugal were ‘ready to fight’ for a place in the final.
Ronaldo was once AGAIN the match-winner in the 1-0 quarter-final win over Czech Republic, which earned them a spot against Spain or France in the last four. After his unstoppable performance against Holland in the final group game, he truly is one of the most talented players left in the tournament.
His coach, Paulo Bento, said his side grew into the game, and fully deserved their place in the semi’s.
“We had prepared ourselves in the best possible way for their strategy. We knew they would try to defend very deeply and would press against us on the counter-attack, because they have very quick players who are good technically.
“All the players have tasks on the pitch, and Ronaldo played to our tactical system.
[ad_pod id=’DFP-MPU’]
“He has the capacity to play in the penalty area, but also a little deeper.”
Should the Portuguese reach the final, they would have already dispatched either France or Spain (the favourites) in their semi-final showdown.
However, Bento claims he has no qualms over which ever team he plays, and is confident of his teams ability, despite Portugal living in the shadow of Spain’s superstar squad.
“In the semi-finals of a tournament like this, there are always great teams with different characteristics who are well organised with players of great quality,” he said.
“It has been a lot of work by us to reach the semi-finals and we will try to recover to reach the pitch in the best condition.
“Our aim will be to win against France or Spain. There cannot be any other goal for us.”
And with strong willed performances like those in the group stages and quarter finals, the question is ‘Why not??’
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.