Portuguese national team head coach Fernando Santos says it will be difficult for them to win the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Santos maintains that the first game is very essential if they are to make a big impact in the competition.
“Winning a tournament like this is extremely difficult for any team, for any country. You only need look at these first few games to see that clearly. I was watching the Croatia-Morocco game just now, and you see very even contests.” Santos indicated during the press conference ahead of the game with Ghana.
“That’s because most of the players are in the same leagues. Against Ghana, for instance, two or three of their players are adversaries of Bruno [Fernandes, who was sitting alongside Santos] in the same championship. They play for big teams and are used to the tactical issues at play. In the past you would see a difference, but nowadays you don’t, especially as all the coaches are of an extremely high level.”
“We are prepared for opponents that will cause us a lot of problems. Ghana are a very well organised team. Their game against Switzerland showed that. African teams have a lot of talent, unpredictability, and are always improving tactically. Today they are much more complete.” He added.
Portugal have being to the World Cup eight times with their best being 3rd place finish in the 1966 edition in England.
