The national team under 21 won this Tuesday in Tbilisi, Belgium, 2-1 and secured a place for the quarter-finals of the European championship that takes place in Georgia. It wasn’t a miracle, but almost… It’s true that Portugal had the best game of the three in the group stage of the tournament, but it still wasn’t brilliant and was finally saved by a penalty kick scored by Tiago Dantas in the 89th minute and by draw (1-1) in the other game between the home team and the Netherlands, a result that helped the Lusitanian dream.
The celebration did not take place until seconds after the referee’s final whistle, as the other game ended later. And even then, the suffering that Portuguese players have shown in this tournament has been seen. After all, this turned out to be the only moment when there was reason to smile so far and coach Rui Jorge should send a thank you letter to his Georgian counterpart, who surprisingly ends the group in the lead. Portugal finished in second place and you already know that on Sunday, at 5 p.m., that they will face Germany today with first place in group C already guaranteed, after beating the Czech Republic (2-0) and Israel (2-0).
This Tuesday, at the Mikheil Meskhi stadium, the team opened the scoring in the 56th minute through João Neves with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, after a cross from Fábio Silva. The precious advantage lasted only nine minutes, however, when Yorbe Vertessen pounced on Lois Obenda’s cross. A draw eliminated both teams, but the truth is that it was even the Belgians who threatened to take the lead on the scoreboard, but towards the end Zeno Debast elbowed Henrique Araújo, which led the referee to signal a penalty, which the captain Tiago Dantas took the opportunity to gift victory and qualification to Portugal.
Tiago Dantas talks about the “click”
The dream of winning the title of European under-21 champion, which he escaped three times with the lost finals in 1994, 2015 and 2021, is still alive, but also to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games, which will take place in Paris, for which only the top three of this European Championship qualify.
Tiago Dantas has already given the signal that from now on everything will be different: “We are relieved that we succeeded and now we are going to play what we have not yet shown what we are capable of. After all, this victory can click. In knock away games, anything can happen.” The midfielder loaned by Benfica to the Greeks of PAOK Salónica last season thanked God for the penalty that went in and recalled that a few years ago – in the Youth League final that the Reds lost to Real Madrid – he missed a “it took a lot”, but he had no doubt that it was “the main goal” of his career to date.
More sober, coach Rui Jorge also showed relief for qualifying, but not to full satisfaction. “We made mistakes again, but this time we were not penalized. Still, we showed a huge fighting spirit, but I am not completely satisfied because I am aware that we can do more and today, despite the win, we did not all good,” he emphasized. , saying that “you need a rest” in difficult times, adding that his team has “always kept both feet firmly on the ground”.
In turn, midfielder João Neves, who scored his debut for the under-21 team, was pleased with the “good goal” that gave Portugal the lead at the start of the first half. The Benfica player stressed that it was “a very contested game until the last second”, but guaranteed that “hope was never lacking” for the national team. “We wanted to win even though we knew it wasn’t up to us and luckily we did,” he concluded.
Another midfielder who said he was “very happy” was Samuel Costa, who was once again in the starting line-up for Rui Jorge’s team. The Almería player from Spain recalled that “a lot of people doubted” this team and assumed that the Portuguese athletes knew they were “at risk of leaving”, but despite this the reaction was “sensational”. “Believing is always a sign of humility,” he concluded.
Source: DN
