Portugal players’ reactions to the historic triumph over Iceland

Portugal recorded their tenth victory in ten games in qualifying for Euro 2024 by beating Iceland 2-0. At the end of the match, several players from the national team spoke to journalists about the feat achieved.

Ricardo Horta

“A historic feat, we had never achieved 10 victories. That was the main objective. We started the qualifying phase well and ended very well too. This is what you can expect from our team. Whenever we play for the national team we try to help as much as possible. It happened- score me the second goal and give me peace of mind in the game. I wouldn’t want to be in the coach’s shoes. We have a lot of quality, there are a lot of players who aren’t here and have a lot of quality. I wouldn’t want to be in his role, but personally I give my best to always be here.”

“There are few teams that achieve this feat. We are a team to be reckoned with, with a lot of quality, with a lot of demands, especially among ourselves. We have very competitive training so that we can get to the game and perform at the best possible level. I’m proud to be in a selection with a lot of quality, to be in this space. Many of the best players in the world are here, one of the best teams in the world in my opinion. For me, it is a source of pride and I will do everything to continue to be called upon and be able to help”.

João Palhinha

“It was a perfect qualification. Something historic, the group maintained its motivation, the way we approached the last games was very good, despite already having guaranteed qualification. The entire group, staff, technical team is to be congratulated, now we want to reach Euro with maximum strength, give an excellent response and try once again to make our dream come true”.

“We assimilated new ideas, it was a benefit for the team, the organization that we built from the first day with Mister Roberto. If I had to define in one word what Roberto brought, it was demand. I think you could see it in this qualifying phase.” .

“Now we want to reach the Euros and have an excellent tournament. We have players and individual and collective talent that are not lacking. The juice is all here. It’s about taking advantage of all the juice we have, even players who were left out can also add quality, right? It’s easy to be here. But we have all the potential to go far in the euro.”

Bruno Fernandes

“We wanted ten wins and we achieved it. Today we created a lot of opportunities, we could have scored more goals, it wasn’t possible, but we are satisfied with the victory. As I said in the preview, we were very professional, intelligent in knowing how to read the moments of the game, we had professionalism, without getting carried away because we were winning, especially in these two games in which we were already qualified. Everyone made their contribution, and it was important for everyone to understand that we are all important in a different way.”

“Roberto Martínez brought new ideas, a different game idea from Mister Fernando Santos, it’s working and we’re happy. Now it’s time to look forward. It wasn’t all bad before with Mister Fernando, it’s not perfect now, we know that perfection isn’t exists, but we want to be closer to it.”

Vitinha

“The Euro is much more important, but to be there we have to qualify. Not long ago we were carrying calculators in our hands and we have to give credit and look at this immaculate, perfect and record-breaking qualification. Still, we know that the The most important thing is the Euro and we are looking forward to it.”

“There was no more perfect way to go to the European Championship. We have the training camp in March with two friendlies, but it is the best way to anticipate the European Championship. We are going full of confidence, we are going with everything, with a lot of dynamics, with a good group, but There’s still a long way to go. We know this changes a lot, but let’s focus on the March training camp and with our eyes on the European Championship.”