Bruno Fernandes believes Portugal will be “on their toes” in their last-16 clash against Slovenia in Euro 2024.
Slovenia only finished third in Group C after drawing all three of their games, while Portugal topped Group F despite losing their final game against Georgia.
And Manchester United midfielder Fernandes believes that surprise defeat, plus a 2-0 loss to Slovenia in a friendly in March, means Portugal will be fully focused for Monday’s game in Frankfurt.
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“We wanted to have three wins at this point,” Fernandes said. “We didn’t achieve that but we managed to go through in first place.
“We don’t have a lot of time to think about what was, we have to think about what’s going to be. We want to win every single game and that means making it to the final and winning the final.
“We respect every opponent. This [Slovenia] team has very relevant names, high-quality players, we respect them greatly. We had a friendly where they beat us and this needs to put us on our toes.
“After the negative results, people tend to focus on the negative aspects but this is how football works.”
Midfielder Adam Gnezda Cerin insists Slovenia will not be content with simply reaching their first ever match in the knockout stages at a major tournament.
“It is a new milestone for the Slovenian national team, for Slovenia in general,” the 24-year-old Panathinaikos player said.
“We have been enjoying this fact the last couple of days but we are not done. We will try to compete and stay in the competition.
“We have our goals and I think tomorrow’s match will be a beautiful evening for everyone to enjoy because these matches are something you dream about as a kid who starts playing football, but we will try to play tomorrow’s match at the highest possible level.
“We are prepared for Portugal. We know that Portugal has many, many high-quality players. They’re a very, very talented team and they can cause you problems all around the pitch.”
