Cristiano Ronaldo said this Friday, June 12th, that he is physically well and believes that this generation will give the Portuguese a lot of joy in the World Cup.
Compared to other World Cups, the captain of the national team said he was “the same, with a lot of joy”. “The World Cup is always a special competition, like the European Championships. Physically I’m fine, there’s no surprise”he stated, going so far as to ask journalists if they had seen the games.
Asked whether this is the closest generation to winning a World Championship, CR7 began by being cautious, responding that “we will only know at the end” and that “there are factors” that are not controllable, but revealed confidence: “I believe it is a generation that will bring great joy to the Portuguese.”
Ronaldo assumed that the preparation for the tournament was “quite good and tiring”, because the players worked “hard”, and justified the less exuberant performances of the quinas team in the preparation matches: “The most important thing was not to be at the highest level in these two games, but at the beginning of the World Cup. When fatigue sets in, later on, that’s when we will see the true champions.”
“I’m very positive and I believe that things will go well. The most important thing is for things to start going well, winning the first, second and third games, being first in the group, and then looking forward”he added.
Also speaking at Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, before the delegation headed to the Palácio de São Bento to be received by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, the national coach attributed the nickname “the talented” to this team, as it is “a generation with a lot of responsibility and a lot of talent”.
Roberto Martínez made a point of differentiating the two phases in the tournament. “The first World Cup is just three games and we need to get to the second World Cup”he stated, guaranteeing that the collective objective is, initially, to win the group stage matches.
“I feel that the players are prepared individually and do what the team needs to win. We have 27 players all fit and prepared, with enormous enthusiasm”he stressed.
