Portugal triumphant as Croatia rue missed chance
Saturday, June 25, 2016
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Portugal hailed a triumph of endeavour, pragmatism and their unwaivering support after edging a tense battle with a Croatia team left feeling that a golden chance has escaped them.
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Fernando Santos, Portugal coach
It was a very tactical match. Portugal tried to take over but Croatia didn't let us; then again, Croatia tried to take over and we didn't let them win either. We were up against an amazing team and this was always going to be tight and strong.
We were ready for them and we set up to resist their strengths and take advantage of their weak spots. We didn't allow them to counterattack but going forwards we do have room for improvement. At times we could have passed the ball faster but Croatia influenced that.
Sometimes you have to be pragmatic. It'd be nice to play pretty but that's not always how you win tournaments. Both teams went into this thinking this was a key step towards the final and luck was on our side – we earned it. Next up, Poland.
Ricardo Quaresma, Portugal goalscorer
We worked hard, we knew the difficulties we were going to encounter, the stress, the anxiety that comes with the game, but I think we should congratulate ourselves. We had a great game, we believed until the end and we should congratulate ourselves for our dedication.
Pepe, Portugal defender
We put a lot of effort in. All that I do is defend this jersey because it means a lot to me. The supporters have been amazing for us ever since we got here. This win is for them. They always believed in us and gave us that extra push. We scored in the second half of extra time for them. We knew we were going to play against a strong team with excellent players. But we showed real team spirit and we were humble.
Ante Čačić, Croatia coach
Everything was perfect except the lack of a goal. As expected, Portugal played on the counterattack and for 120 minutes we controlled it and didn't allow them a chance until that last one. Many times the best team doesn't win and that's what happened here.
We were more aggressive and tried to score but they were disciplined, scored after 117 minutes and I can only congratulate them. Portugal are a high-quality team with a lot of experience. They could maybe be tournament favourites now.
I'm obviously really sad. We had a great chance for the tournament. We knew if we'd won we'd have a really clear path but this is tournament football. Football isn't always fair.