Portugal has the capacity to be a “passionate” team at the 2023 World Cup in France, said the coach Patrice Lagisquet on Tuesday, who is preparing the ‘wolves’, already in Perpignan, so as not to be “surprised” by the involvement of the competition.
In the first official World Cup press conference, the French coach recalled that the DNA of the Portuguese team “is not conservative” and, therefore, “people will support” the Portuguese team if they play at their “best level”.
“I want the Portuguese team to be an exciting team, which people support because they like the way they play, they commit and manage to create incredible things during the game. And I’m sure these players have the ability to do it,” he said. Lagisquet, in the Perpignan Sports Park.
The Portuguese team arrived this Monday in that city in the south of France, where Lagisquet promises to maintain the level of demand so that the players are prepared for their debut, against Wales, on September 16.
“My goal is to put as much pressure on them as possible so that they are ready to start the World Cup well and that they are not surprised when they go out on the field, with more than 30,000 people screaming in the stadium,” said the French coach. .
According to ‘Bayonne Express’, the players’ first contact with this reality is very “strong” and provokes different reactions, which is why “the maximum demand is placed on all training sessions until the first game”.
“Not all players react in the same way and I don’t want them to feel that pressure only at the last moment, when it’s already too late. That’s why I put a lot of pressure in training, but it’s completely different from having a stadium.” Filled with 30,000 or more. 40,000 people screaming,” she acknowledged.
Together with the coach, the ‘captain’ of the Portuguese team admitted that “it is not worth saying that the pressure will not influence” the team, but recalled that the answer “has a lot to do with the way” in which the ‘wolves’ are managed to “handle” it.
“Obviously there will be pressure, there will be frustration in some players when the squads start to come out, but as a team, in general, we are good and confident. Now is the time to take advantage. If we don’t do it now, we will never take advantage of it.” noted Thomas Appleton.
The ‘wolves’ arrived in Perpignan this Monday, where they will remain until the end of the group stage of the World Cup in France 2023, after a preparation that began on June 26 and was divided into three phases, in Oeiras, in the Algarve. and in Font-Romeu, already in France.
The Portuguese team will play the Rugby World Cup for the second time in its history, after its historic presence in the competition, in 2007, also in France.
Portugal will compete in Group C, in which they will face Wales (September 16), Georgia (September 23), Australia (October 1) and the Fiji Islands (October 8).
The 2023 World Cup in France takes place between September 8 and October 28.
Source: TSF
