On Monday, coach José Mourinho commented on some issues regarding the Euro Cup. The coach expressed disappointment with Portugal, who were eliminated last Friday by France on penalties after a 0-0 draw in normal time, and pointed to Spain as the biggest surprise of the competition.
“There is always frustration when you feel that you could do better. The team’s potential was very high, I wasn’t wrong in my predictions when I said that Portugal, France and England were favourites, two of them are in the semi-finals. Spain is the biggest surprise for me, because of the way the team has evolved, a new team, which is the one that has played best throughout the tournament”, he told Sport TV.
Spain is the only team with a 100% record and has been impressive in the competition. The team led by coach Luis de la Fuente also has the best attack, alongside the eliminated Germany, with 11 goals scored.
After beating the host country 2-1, the Spanish team faces France this Tuesday, at 4pm (Brasília time), in the semi-final, at the Allianz Arena, in Munich.
🥁 Introducing your final four…
🇪🇸 Spain
🇫🇷 France
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🏴 EnglandWho wins it? 🤔#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/vkQOd2Yb0x
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 6, 2024
Mourinho also criticized Portugal’s performance and reported that since the 2-1 defeat to Croatia in a pre-tournament friendly, he no longer had confidence in the team.
“Portugal wasn’t fantastic, despite reaching the quarter-finals. We expected more. I was at Jamor, in the friendly against Croatia and it didn’t go down well, I didn’t have high expectations. Then, during the tournament, we were that team that kept going, but didn’t convince. Often, these teams that keep going, arrive at the moment of truth and present themselves stronger, but that wasn’t the case with Portugal, there was no improvement”, he stated.
Portugal were knocked out of the European Championship with no goals scored in their two qualifying games, both of which ended in 0-0 draws and were decided on penalties. Despite this, Mourinho is still hopeful for the future of the team.
“It’s a young team, it has many years ahead of it. The World Cup is just around the corner,” he concluded.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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