Roberto Martinez spoke to the media after Portugal’s intense penalty shootout win against Slovenia in the Frankfurt Arena.
Martinez’s men narrowly beat Sokoli on penalties and now set up a tough test against France in the quarterfinals on Friday for a place in the final four.
“I’m very proud of tonight, I loved our performance,” Martinez explained.
“We needed to show that the team can suffer through this, that we never throw in the towel, and I think we deserved to win in the 90 minutes, but I think Slovenia played a great game, and I really liked the strength, concentration, and belief.”
“Now, we just have to look ahead. We have the quarterfinals against France. This hinged on details, but I think this gives us even more strength than winning a game by two or three goals,” said Martinez.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a crucial penalty in the second half of extra time, which could have won the game for Portugal in extra time. However, Martinez praised the Al Nassr striker for what he brings to the team: “I think it’s a constant example for us.”
“When you see a player, the only player, let’s say, that has ever played six European Championships, and he’s got that responsibility, that desire, that belief as a young man – those emotions are incredible.”
“For someone who has won everything and has experienced everything, he doesn’t need to get that much. That’s why I thank him for being the way he is, for caring for the group, for being someone that after missing a penalty only the penalty takers can miss penalties, and you have to give credit to the goalkeeper,” Martinez continued.
“He was the first penalty taker. I knew I was certain that he had to be the first penalty taker and show us the way to the victory and I think we’re all very, very proud of our captain.”
The match for Portugal fans involved a lot of suffering before their win was confirmed, but Martinez insisted that the team had what it takes to beat France: “I can tell you that the locker room knows how to suffer.”
“The team knows it is very united, and we’re very resilient. We know we have amazing players. Individual talent is on display for everyone to see, but today, we had a number of players who gave it their all for the national team,” Martinez said.
“Talent is part of it, but if you want to win, you need more, and we showed we have that in spades. We’re very passionate and the fans can be very proud.”
“It was tough, but winning teams know how to weather the storms, and now we need to keep doing what we’re doing and making the best of the stalled.”