Portugal Coach Fernando Santos declares “we’re not here to play on the counter-attack”, ahead of the crunch Nations League game with Italy.
The visitors will qualify for the finals with a draw, while Italy have to win to have any chance of finishing top of the group.
A 1-0 win for the Azzurri would mean they need a win for Poland in the final game, as Portugal would have scored more goals.
If Italy win and score two or more goals, a draw in the final match will see them through.
Portugal Coach Fernando Santos declares “we’re not here to play on the counter-attack”, ahead of the crunch Nations League game with Italy.
The visitors will qualify for the finals with a draw, while Italy have to win to have any chance of finishing top of the group.
A 1-0 win for the Azzurri would mean they need a win for Poland in the final game, as Portugal would have scored more goals.
If Italy win and score two or more goals, a draw in the final match will see them through.
Despite the fact his side only need a point to guarantee their place in the Nations League finals though, the Portugal Coach won’t set up for a draw.
“Our focus is on Italy, we’re not thinking about other matches,” Santos insisted in his pre-match Press conference.
“Everything we’ve done has been focused on the Italy match. These are two strong teams with great quality.
“Over the past two months they’ve changed their style of play, they’re constantly evolving and this won’t be the team we saw in Lisbon.
“They have different characteristics, and I think only three of those who played in Lisbon will play.
“[Gigio] Donnarumma, Jorginho and [Federico] Chiesa played at the Da Luz, but even they’ll play in a different way. We’ve analysed them.
“We’re thinking about what we have to do, though of course we have great respect for everyone, not least Italy, one of football’s historic teams.
“It’s a challenge of the highest level, but we have all the characteristics to do well and to win.
“We’re not here to play on the counter-attack. They have a lot of possession and are very organised, and are trying to be a lot more attacking.
“We also want to keep the ball a lot, we try to disorganise our opponent. We want to eliminate the space and create problems for Italy.
“We play very similar football, but I think our players have the quality to overcome this obstacle.
“It’s not a question of faith, it’s about playing against a very strong opponent with a lot of quality. We try to win against everyone and that’s what we’ll do tomorrow.
“We know what we have to do, these are two strong teams who play similar football, so we’ll play a beautiful match.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has once again not been called-up, could that be a danger given that he provides so many of Portugal’s goals?
“No team that has Cristiano Ronaldo and can say that he doesn’t help them. He’s the best player in the world. The important thing is that he shows he’s the best in the world and wins the Ballon d’Or.
“Could he return in March? We’ll see. We’re focused on the present and we want to win.”