The Portuguese team staged a “great football spectacle” on Wednesday by qualifying for the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup with a 6-1 win over Switzerland, stressed the Prime Minister, António Costa, who was in Lusail.
“But most important of all was the great show that the team gave to everyone who enjoys football. More than the goals, it was the collective sense, the joy and pleasure that the players had while playing. I think it was a great night. for all of us, I hope that the next ones will be like this”, the head of government confided to the journalists.
“The coach is the one who knows which is the best eleven to have on the field at all times. With a luxury squad like the one we have, I didn’t want to be in the coaching position. It is easier to organize a government than to choose an eleven of the quality of the squad that we have”, affirmed Costa.
At the Estádio Lusail, the scene of the final of the competition, Portugal beat Switzerland in the last day of the round of 16, with a hat-trick from Gonçalo Ramos, to guarantee the third place in the top 8 of the main national team tournament, along the lines of the 1966 and 2006 editions.
“It was an extraordinary game. We are all very excited about what the team did, not only for the result, but for the way they played and for the willingness and confidence that they gave us all for the next games”, continued António . Costa, revealing that he did go to the locker room at the end of the game to greet and congratulate the athletes.
Gonçalo Ramos ‘signed’ the first hat-trick of the tournament, at 17, 51 and 67 minutes, with Pepe, at 33, Raphaël Guerreiro, at 55, and Rafael Leão, at 90+2, getting the remaining national goals, while Manuel Akanji scored the Swiss goal, in the 58th minute.
“If we have the happiness that we all want to reach the final, I hope to return here. If not, I will be in front of the television cheering like millions of Portuguese around the world,” said the prime minister. she who traveled to Qatar for the first time since the start of the 2022 World Cup, after being replaced by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, who is in charge of Sport, in Friday’s defeat against South Korea (1-2 ). ), by Paulo Bento, for the third day of Group H, for health reasons.
Portugal will now face Morocco, who eliminated Spain today (3-0 on penalties, after 0-0 after extra time), on Saturday, at 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. in Lisbon), in The Al Thumama Stadium, in Doha, in duel of the ‘quarters’ of the 2022 World Cup.
“We were condemned to play with the neighbors. It will be one more game, but clearly we have a team to do what needs to be done. In a competition like this everything is possible and impossible. Who would say that in 2016 we would be European champions “The truth is that we came and this year the same thing may or may not happen. We have a difficult road and Morocco is playing very well, as was seen. have one of two great teams [nas meias-finais]Either France or England. You cannot be world champion without overcoming these obstacles and difficulties,” said António Costa.
Out of the starting eleven for the Dusail game was Cristiano Ronaldo, who replaced João Félix in the 74th minute, a day after Fernando Santos admitted that he did not “really at all” like the captain’s attitude when he was substituted in the slip with Korea from the south. .
“Coaches have to make difficult decisions. Cristiano Ronaldo is always a great player, but the coach makes his decisions and we have to respect and support him. The truth is that with Fernando Santos we have always had good careers and we are doing it too.” in this World Cup. Football is a team game and this collective must be managed so that each one is at their best at the right time. It is what has been happening, ”he observed.
Starting in the last three games played by Portugal in Qatar, in which he was always substituted during the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo has not missed a game to ‘tell’ of a major international competition for teams since Euro 2004, at one point in which he is without a club, after terminating his contract with Manchester United.
“Portugal is a country that has no enemies in the world and cultivates friendship. Then we have a superstar, which is Cristiano. In fact, when the stadium shouted ‘Ronaldo Ronaldo Ronaldo’, you could see that many [dos adeptos] they were not Portuguese. He already saw the reaction of the people when he entered. There is an extraordinary empathy. In addition to the collective, he contributes a lot by himself ”, concluded António Costa, who had left Albania this afternoon, where he was part of the first summit of the European Union with the Western Balkans.
Source: TSF
