Portugal vs Croatia – Football Match Preview – September 5, 2024

Sept 4 (Reuters) – Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said on Wednesday he understands the criticism of his team after Euro 2024 as there are high expectations for their talented squad.

As Portugal prepare for their Nations League opener against Croatia on Thursday and Scotland on Sunday in League A Group 1, Martinez said he took positives from the penalty shootout defeat to France in the quarter-finals of the European Championship and that his team will be stronger after the experience.

“Criticism is part of the demand that we will always have. But the internal demands are even stronger than the demands of the fans,” Martinez told a news conference on Wednesday.

“We always want to win, but the big tournaments have the best players in the world, so games are decided by details. The detail is often a penalty where the ball goes in or out.

“We showed character, we controlled the game against France and we grew a lot as a team. The group was ready to play two more games, but I really liked our character. We did very well in many areas.”

Martinez believes his players are experienced enough to handle the pressure and come to terms with the painful penalty shootout defeat. The defeat was a fitting summary of Portugal’s disappointing campaign, in which they struggled to play effectively up front.

The Spanish manager said he wants to focus on building his team around attack and that fans can expect a more aggressive team than they saw in Germany.

“We are looking forward to being back on the pitch. (The fans) can expect a Portuguese team that plays with energy and willpower and plays attacking football,” Martinez said.

“We want to play attacking and tomorrow we have an interesting test because Croatia is a team that likes to have the ball. There will be two teams fighting for the ball.

“Portugal will be very ambitious and will want to get back on the pitch. We want to make our fans happy again. I know the skills of my players, but their personality and attitude are incredible.” (Reporting by Fernando Kallas Editing by Toby Davis)