Portugal coach: Jota was once an important member of us, he was always with us

September 5th news At 00:00 on September 7, Portugal will play against Armenia away in a match in Group F of the World Cup in the European Division, and Portugal coach Martinez was interviewed before the game.

About Jota, who died in a car accident this summer, was once an important member of the Portuguese locker room. Now we have the responsibility to continue with his dreams. I believe he is always with us.

About Armenia team

This is a team with clear tactical goals, long-range shooting is their strength, and they also have players with personal strength in their team. Our away game against Armenia is a completely different situation than our European League semi-finals against Germany. Armenia is at home this time, and this is the first game of the World Cup qualifiers, so we must make sufficient pre-match preparations.

The schedule for the Portuguese World Cup qualifiers

The qualifiers are very special and there is no room for fault tolerance. This is the first time in history that only 6 games are arranged in the qualifiers stage. Our focus must be on the entire qualifiers stage, not just a single match against Armenia or Hungary, which is a point that must be considered in preparation. We look forward to getting support from fans at home in October, so at this stage we must maintain 100% focus.

C Ronaldo will start tomorrow? Will Cancelo appear? Will we see Joao Neves as right-back?

I won't talk about the specific starting eleven players, I would rather talk about the players themselves. We have an important training class today, and I am very satisfied with the current preparations. The players are energetic and focused now. We have to play two games in 72 hours, so we must properly arrange the starting lineup for the first game to maintain the same level of competitive level in the next game against Hungary. Everyone can look forward to the adjustments in our lineup. Nuno Tavarez is a very special player. Even if he only participates in one training class, he can still perform our always-off tactical requirements. The versatility of our players is a big advantage, and they can use them to play in different positions flexibly. We have let Nuno Mendes try different positions, and so is Joo Neves, who can play the role of full-back.

About Portugal should maintain concentration and discipline in tomorrow's game

We always fight for victory and strive to show the highest level in every game, which is what we did in the qualifiers of the European Cup - we won all the games at that time, and the same is true in the UEFA League games, and it is important that the team should maintain concentration and discipline.

The past three games Portugal has had two draws against Armenia...

We have great respect for Armenia, and this game is a major test for us. In order to come to Armenia two days in advance, we have formulated a special itinerary plan. The team is currently extremely focused. We have drawn twice in the past three games here, which also highlights the difficulties we may face in tomorrow's game.

How are the players in the Portuguese national team currently in? Many of them have very little holiday time this summer...

Since I started coaching the (Belgium) national team in 2016, it has been nearly 10 years since then. This kind of situation is an emergency that may occur in international football matches. Players and coaches who can stand at this level must be prepared for this. Our national team has always been able to meet these challenges, and the players have always been able to overcome difficulties brought about by the schedules of international football events such as dense schedules and shortages of holidays.

Armenia has replaced the new coach. Will this bring some changes to the preparations for Portugal in this game?

I expect them to adopt common tactics when other teams play against Portugal, and when a team changes coach, the emotional level of the player becomes more important. One of the major challenges we are facing at present is to adjust our mentality in time after winning the UEFA Champions.

Is Portugal's preparations for this game too short?

The two national teams have the same preparation time, so there is no question of who has the advantage or who is at a disadvantage. The Armenian team will show extremely strong competitiveness, and we must show the same level of performance to compete with it.

What are your expectations for the outcome of tomorrow's game?

Talking about the results is for the fans. I only focus on the team's performance. The team's performance ultimately determines the results of the game. I will accept any results of tomorrow's game.

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