HAMBURG, Germany — Portugal manager Roberto Martinez was pleased by how dominant his side were in their 3-0 win over Turkey and said that he is confident they are ready for the Euro 2024 round of 16 after securing qualification as Group F winners.
Despite facing criticism following a last gasp fight back win against Czech Republic, Martinez said he didn’t think his team had had a bad performance in their opener, considering it was a similar display to the latest game with the result being determined by the circumstances.
Portugal had to dig deep to beat the Czechs 2-1 with a stoppage-time winner, which raised questions about Martinez’s side who arrived in Germany among the favourites.
“I think our game was on the same level as the first one what is very important for us, to maintain a good level. The difference is that we managed to score early and that allowed us to play more calm and relaxed,” Martinez added.
“After we scored the first goal it changed what Turkey needed to do, it is important to start well. We were focused on defence and controlled the game better, it was so meaningful to keep them from scoring.”
After abandoning the system used in the opener of deploying three central defenders and reverting to a back four, Martinez said that he will remain flexible and keep his rivals guessing.
“It’s important to balance our abundance of individual talent and the best way to do it is being tactically flexible,” Martinez said according to Reuters.
“To have that flexibility in a national team is difficult so I think it’s great that we have players talented enough to play different roles according to the situation and the rival.”
As the victory secured Portugal’s progress to the knockout rounds, Martinez said that he will rotate his squad in their last group stage game on Wednesday against Georgia.
“Securing first place is good because there are a lot of players in the dressing room who deserve to play and we need to give them opportunities to show what they’ve got and create a competitive environment in the team during the tournament,” Martinez said.
“I was very happy with the attitude and them showing that we’re growing game by game.
“It’s good to see progress and a good level of play in two consecutive matches and I feel that we are ready for the knock-outs.”
ortugal veteran Pepe is the oldest player ever to appear at the European Championship but that did not stop him being one of the best performers in win over Turkey as coach Martinez described the 41-year-old as a “wonderful example.”
The Porto centre-back, who turned 41 in February, set the record for the competition’s oldest player when he appeared in his country’s 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in their opening game at Euro 2024.
He passed the mark set by Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly, who was 40 years and 86 days when he played against Belgium in the last 16 at Euro 2016, and Pepe was again in the side for the 3-0 win over Turkey.
Not only that, he was outstanding as he marshalled the back line alongside Ruben Dias in Dortmund, helping Martinez’s team to a victory which allowed them to clinch their place in the knockout stages.
“If there was a neutral guy watching the game and he saw Pepe playing he would never believe he is 41 years old,” Martinez said.
“He is an example, a professional, the way he reads the game, the way he competes.
“He uses the 24 hours to be a professional footballer,” Martinez added when asked how Pepe manages to continue competing at such a high level when most players his age have long since retired.
“We all know players who maybe only spend two hours a day preparing themselves. The rest of the time they live life normally and expect one day to retire.
“Pepe doesn’t do that. He uses 24 hours to get himself recovered. When he is not recovering he makes sure he has the right sleep patterns.
