Portuguese tactician, Jose Mourinho, has revealed that he is surprised at how Spain’s national team performed so far in the Euro 2024.
Recall that ahead of the European Championship, Jose Mourinho selected England, France, and Portugal as his favourites for the title.
All the aforementioned teams have dropped points in the tournament, and Portugal have been knocked out. However, Spain who were not rated as one of the favourites for the title recorded a perfect run in the group stage.
Against all odds, the Spanish team knocked out the hosts, Germany, in the quarter-finals. They now have France to battle against in the semi-finals at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8.
“Spain is the biggest surprise for me, in the way the team has evolved, they are practically a new team,” Jose Mourinho told Sport TV on Monday.
“For me, at the moment, they are the team that plays the best and the one that has played the best throughout the tournament.”
In regards to Portugal, his country of origin, Jose Mourinho admitted that the side were not good enough in the tournament.
The Fenerbahce’s new manager noted that the Portuguese side was not convincing even though they managed to reach the semi-finals.
He said, “Portugal wasn’t fantastic, despite reaching the quarter-finals. We expected more. I was at the National Stadium for the Portugal-Croatia match and it didn’t smell good. I didn’t get a great feeling.
“During the tournament, we were the team that was making progress, but we weren’t convincing.
“Often, when the moment of truth comes, these teams are stronger. This wasn’t the end of Portugal, there wasn’t any improvement in the team.
“But it’s a young team, apart from the two veterans [Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe], a team with years ahead of them. The World Cup is just around the corner.”
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