The Prime Minister highlighted this Sunday the emotion of the first match of the women’s soccer team in the World Cup and was optimistic about the match, referring, however, that regardless of this, the team has already left its mark on history.
Speaking to journalists before the start of the game in which Portugal faces the Netherlands, António Costa highlighted the “great emotion” that it represents “for all of us” since it is the first time that the country will have the “women’s team playing in a World Cup”.
Emphasizing his optimistic side, the prime minister said he was approaching this first match with “enormous optimism” and expressed his hope that “the match will be as exciting” and “disputed” as the last one in which the team faced the Netherlands, a year ago, but that “this time it will be 3-2 for ours”.
“It was very difficult to get here, it was a penalty in the 90th minute in the last game of the play-off, but that shows that football is like that. Despite having a very complicated group, where the current world champion is [EUA] and world champion [Países Baixos]but surely the ‘navigators’ will fight for us to achieve a great result”, said António Costa.
“We are going to watch the game and cheer on Portugal and hopefully we will reach the round of 16”. he said, pointing out that in this World Cup Portugal will have to get used to the fact that “now soccer is at 8:30 in the morning.”
António Costa said that this Monday he will have breakfast with the players of the women’s soccer team and that at that moment “he will congratulate them, because whatever the result, the historic turn has taken place.”
The Prime Minister has pointed out the “fast path” that the women’s soccer team has taken to reach a world championship, stressing that “whatever the result is, this already makes a big difference”, because “it means that the great maturity that soccer has come to have with women is a very significant sign for gender equality and to realize that there is really no activity that is prohibited and in which everyone cannot have the opportunity to play.”
The national women’s soccer team makes its debut this Sunday in the world championship of the modality, which runs until August 20, in a match in which it faces the Dutch team at the Dunedin Stadium.
The Prime Minister’s visit was announced in a note from his office stating that “in view of the unprecedented qualification of the women’s team for the World Cup, the Prime Minister promised to be present at the first match of the Portuguese team in the World Cup, thus signaling the importance of this modality”.
Source: TSF
