Bruno Fernandes and his Portuguese teammates aim to triumph over Ireland as they button up their Euro 2024 warm-ups, coming off a loss to Croatia.
Bruno conveyed that Portugal’s recent 2-1 setback by Croatia mirrored heightened fan expectations for Euro 2024.
Despite a less than stellar performance in Lisbon, where Luka Modric’s penalty and Ante Budimir’s latter strike handed the visitors a historical victory, the Selecao das Quinas wrapped up their tourney drills.
Hitherto crossing into Germany this week, despite sweeping all qualifiers, Portugal faced hiccups against Croatia and Slovenia in pre-tournament friendlies.
Since claiming the title in 2016, Portugal hasn’t advanced past the quarter-finals in global competitions, a streak last seen at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Fernandes acknowledges the flak aimed at the squad but insists on the collective’s potential to excel beyond current performances.
“It’s crucial that no one presumes we’ve peaked and there’s no room for growth,” Fernandes stated to the press on Monday.
“Improvement is always possible. Honestly, I’m somewhat fond of the national team’s critical reception, the view that ‘we’re not as formidable’, ‘there’s still much to desire.’
“I appreciate it since it signifies lofty expectations from us and an insistence on enhanced performance. We, as representatives, must rise to the occasion,” he added.
The Portuguese outfit faces the Republic of Ireland in their last preliminary encounter on Tuesday. They’re slated to spar with the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Georgia in Group F.
