FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Portugal coach Roberto Martinez knows to respect the underdog, having already seen his team lose to Slovenia when the round of 16 opponents at the European Championship met in a friendly in March.
Portugal lost by the same 2-0 score to Georgia in a Euro 2024 group game, and Martinez was asked Sunday about the underdog trend at the same time that Slovakia was frustrating England with a lead that lasted until the last seconds.
“All the teams here have a lot of personality. They believe that they can win,” Martinez said ahead of Portugal facing Slovenia again on Monday.
“The same applies to Slovenia. They are very well organized, competitive, and believe in what they’re doing,” he said in translated comments.
Portugal, the European champion in 2016 and still with the veteran presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe, is a big favorite.
Slovenia is playing its first elimination game in the knockout rounds at a major tournament, its fourth in 32 years as an independent soccer nation.
“It’s a historical moment for Slovenian football,” Martinez said, praising his counterpart Matjaž Kek. “We admire what their coach is doing because their national team plays like a club."
“They attack very quickly. (Andraž) Šporar and (Benjamin) Šeško have a very strong bond, and they kept a clean sheet against England.”
That 0-0 against England was a third straight draw for Slovenia, one of six teams still unbeaten at Euro 2024.
Kek joined in the mutual respect, calling Martinez “a gentleman, he always behaves like that.”
The game is likely to follow a pattern. Portugal leads the tournament in most time possessing the ball and Slovenia has the least, with UEFA assessing their scores as 64.3% and 36.7%.
“They don’t need a lot of possession to be dangerous,” Martinez said.
Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes expects patience to be key to beating goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who he described as one of the world's best.
“We know we have to tire them out, make them run around,” he said. “If we can’t do it on the inside we will do it on the outside and use the wings.”
The winner Monday in Frankfurt will move on to play France or Belgium on Friday in Hamburg.
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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
The Associated Press
