The national soccer coach, Fernando Santos, spoke for the first time this Friday about Rafa Silva’s resignation from the National Team, asking for respect for the player’s decision.
“We have to respect them. These are personal issues, they are their reasons. We will all have our opinion. Here, what I think is most important is to respect what the player decides. That is what I do. I have always had a great relationship with Rafa, like I had and have with all the players in the national team”, said the Portuguese coach at the press conference prior to the match against the Czech Republic.
Fernando Santos reveals that the player first sent him a “request for exemption from boarding school” and then “he informed the Federation of his unavailability to be part of the national team.”
Rafa’s departure from the group called by the coach for the games against the Czech Republic and Spain opened the door for Gonçalo Ramos to make his debut for the Portuguese national team.
However, he was not a direct replacement: “On the first day of practice we realized that João Félix could hardly be in this game. That led me to summon another player, because Felix had a specific position in the game. for that position, although we have one or two players who can play in that position, but I thought it was important to fill that low that for me was already a certainty for this game at least. We’ll see what happens for the game. against Spain, that’s why Gonçalo Ramos was called up”.
Another topic of the week was the revelation of Cristiano Ronaldo’s intentions not only to play in the World Cup this year, but also to participate in Euro 2024, which is played in Germany.
“Nothing that surprises us with these statements, because everyone knows -he has told him how many and how many times since 2003- that it is a great pride to be present in the selection”, he says.
Specifically about this Saturday’s rival, Fernando Santos expects difficulties, in addition to the difficulties that the Spanish had when they visited the Czechs. “It is enough to realize that here Spain tied at the last minute, in a very difficult match for Spain. [A Chéquia] they beat Switzerland, so it is a team with many quality players, who play good championships. A team that knows what it is doing and is well organized. Therefore, it always creates big problems for the opponents”, considers the national coach.
Portugal will face the Czech Republic this Saturday, in Prague, on matchday five of group A2. The team is second in the group with seven points, one less than Spain. The Iberian duel of the last day will be played next Tuesday and it will be possible to define who will play among the four finalists of the competition.
Source: TSF
