Portugal kicked off their European Championship campaign with a dramatic victory over Czechia, after Francisco Conceição slotted home in stoppage time to snatch all three points for Portugal.
It wasn’t perhaps the strongest performance from Selecão, but three points are three points, and they are now in a good position to advance to the knockout stages.
What did Martínez say?
Embed from Getty ImagesWith the substitutes proving instrumental off the bench, Portugal manager Roberto Martínez spoke about the importance of having a strong squad, and how it helped his side get over the line tonight.
“The players that came off the bench showed that our team has a lot of options, it’s a very competitive team.”
Although Portugal left it late, Portugal’s dominance throughout the game was evident to see. With time winding down for his side, a reporter questioned whether it was too risky to make such late personnel changes.
“I think it wasn’t too late. We can analyse the game technically and tactically,” Martínez said to reporters. “We had 13 corner kicks, Czechia zero. We had eight shots on target, Czechia had one.”
The Spaniard further went onto praise the determination his side showed: “Today we won, because the group is united, and it’s a very resilient group, especially after the past few days. We managed to concede, but still win the game”.
A part of staging the comeback and something Martínez believed helped them was the support of the fans who made the trip to Germany. In an attempt to flip the game on it’s head in the last 25 minutes, the manager believed the fans became the 12th man Portugal so desperately needed.
“I need to thank our fans. The atmosphere they created helped us win this game. We all want to grow together during this tournament. We played the perfect 90 minutes to grow and to be able to face off against Türkiye now.”
Vitinha, who plays his club football with Paris Saint-Germain, played an important role in Portugal’s comeback win, and Martínez was in admiration of his efforts. “He was a very important player throughout all three friendlies, both on and off the pitch. We have a very competitive squad, and it’s important to have players like Vitinha who can help us control the game. I want to see him play at his best level, like I have seen before, and that’s the kind of Vitinha we need”.
Embed from Getty ImagesMartínez’ last comments were made in reference to the match winner, where he described just how hard Francisco Conceição has had to work for his moment, with his winner stoppage time coming on his major tournament debut.
“Francisco is the ultimate example of earning it. He deserves to be here, and he has shown that he is ready to help the group. He is a very mature player, and he plays vertically. He has a nose for danger in the box. He has shown character and showed his worth, proving his place to be here”.
Portugal are next in action on Saturday, where they are to take on Türkiye in their second game of the group stage. Follow reaction from the Portuguese camp, and every other fixture of EURO2024, here on FromTheSpot.