It took only two games for Fernando Santos to declare his confidence. The Portugal manager had just witnessed the draw against Austria and surprised everybody by saying he would not be home until 11 July. “And there will be a huge party waiting for me,” he said.
Portugal are yet to win in 90 minutes at Euro 2016 but his prediction is one game from coming true. Criticism remains prevalent because their general play has lacked beauty, but Santos is cool with it as they keep progressing.
“I’d prefer to be ugly at Euro 2016 than be beautiful at home,” he said last week and after Wales defeated Belgium on Friday he revealed that he had instructed his backroom staff to focus on Chris Coleman’s side beforehand. “I believed Wales would be our opponent,” Santos added. “I told my staff not to look at Belgium so much because they had great players but showed weaknesses in defence. Wales work as a team and play like there is no tomorrow.”
That message was passed on to the players and Danilo Pereira, who will replace the suspended William Carvalho, is full of respect for Wednesday’s opponents but says confidence is high. “They are very strong in the air and we have to be prepared. If they are confident of winning, good for them – but we feel the same and I don’t think we will be put out by Wales.”
Expectation is evidently growing. Cristiano Ronaldo tried to calm down the growing excitement on Sunday when addressing a couple of hundred fans near the squad’s base in Marcoussis. “We appreciate your support but we haven’t won anything yet,” the captain said. “We promise to try our best to win the two games that are left.”
His speech does not hide the sense that fans and players alike believe Portugal can return to the final of a European Championship, having been beaten by Greece on their own turf in 2004. There is also a sense that the biggest obstacle on the road to the final was Croatia, whom they defeated in extra-time the Saturday before last.
Portugal have reached this stage with Ronaldo nowhere near his best form and, in a way, that has been good news as it proves there is enough talent available to make up for his below-par performances. He has scored and assisted in only one match, against Hungary; the 4,000 minutes of club football last season have left him fatigued.
There is an unmistakably positive atmosphere in the squad, though, and trust in Santos’s methods. He coached Greece until 2014, the side who denied Portugal 10 years earlier by playing cynically. Is it time for the Portuguese to triumph in a similar manner? Santos, at least, seems to think so.