PREVIEW
Portugal is set to host Croatia in its Nations League opener on Thursday before welcoming Scotland in League A Group One on Sunday, Martinez said that he took positives from their penalty shootout defeat to France in the quarterfinals at the Euros and that his side will be stronger for the experience.
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“Criticism is part of the demand we will always have. But the internal demands are even stronger than the demands of the fans,” Martinez told a press 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 aspects.”
Martinez said his players are experienced enough to deal with the pressure and turn the page on the heartbreaking shootout loss after a goalless stalemate, which summed up Portugal’s disappointing campaign, as they struggled to be effective up-front.
The Spanish manager said that his main focus was to build his team around their attack and that the fans should expect a more aggressive side than the one they saw in Germany
Cristiano Ronaldo has ruled out any immediate thought of retirement from international football as he believes he still has plenty to give Portugal, he told a press conference on Monday.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has been playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia for almost two years now, failed to score as he appeared at a record sixth European Championship this year, with Portugal exiting in the quarterfinals.
In spite of the criticism he received in the press conference Ronaldo said he “never considered leaving the national team” and he has retained the backing of coach Roberto Martinez.
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