Supported by a noisy crowd, the Portuguese women’s soccer team left Cidade do Futebol on Monday for the Humberto Delgado airport to travel to New Zealand, where they will play a World Cup of this category for the first time.
Moments before starting the trip, the national coach Francisco Neto highlighted the “great mission” carried out for the national players to reach the level required to compete in a World Cup.
“The preparation was what we had been doing, more specifically now at the moment, but especially in recent years. We have exposed our players in recent years to play with the best teams, in contexts of the greatest possible adversity, ”he recalled. , convinced of the practical results of the work carried out.
Given the support expressed by the approximately three hundred Portuguese fans who positioned themselves at the entrance to the Cidade do Futebol and sang the national anthem, interpreted by the Banda da Armada Portuguesa, to show their support at the time the bus that transported the national team to the airport, the technician highlighted the difficulty of the planned task.
“Of course, it’s impossible to replicate what it’s like to be at a World Cup, but our main mission has been to give our players these great international experiences so they can be better prepared afterwards. We know that it is a very difficult mountain. climb,” he acknowledged.
Francisco Neto insisted on the idea that preparation is very important, but in any case he admitted that “only when the anthem sounds on the 23rd will we really ‘take it out'”.
“We are going to realize the greatness of this feat, of what we have been doing and of this feat that we have now achieved,” the national coach concluded with a smile, as well as the midfielder Tatiana Pinto, who showed appreciation to the Portuguese fans. for the support shown, promising to do everything possible to make the national colors proud in a historic participation in a World Cup.
The 29-year-old soccer player appreciated the encouragement and affection that surrounded her.
“Above all, a huge thank you goes through my mind to all these people who came here to support us and leave us a word of love, comfort and strength, and also to all the people who were present at the Estádio do Bessa”, he defended. .
Aware of the demands that the competition will place, the experienced player who will be a strong option for the Portuguese midfield says that “we are not going for a walk”.
“We are representing Portugal at the highest level and our goal is to go into each game with the goal of winning in mind. This team and this staff have already shown that nothing is impossible and that is what we want to continue doing.” she guaranteed.
Even earlier, the team held a final training session on Portuguese soil in front of a full crowd at Cidade do Futebol, made up of an audience that included family and friends of several of the national players.
In the training, which lasted just over an hour, 22 of the 25 players participated, 23 called up and two other ‘reserve’ athletes, Alicia Correia and Maria Alagoa, who will also travel with the team to New Zealand.
Only the forward Kika Nazareth, who is recovering from a small problem in her right knee, as well as the defense Sílvia Rebelo and the midfielder Fátima Pinto, who ran, were saved from the training session that preceded the departure to the Humberto Delgado airport for Nueva Zealand -which organizes the World Cup in conjunction with Australia.
The women’s team is in Group E of the World Cup and will play against the Netherlands on July 23, Vietnam on July 27, and the United States on August 1.
Source: TSF
