Roberto Martinez believes going toe-to-toe with in the Nations League and coming out on top will stand Portugal in excellent stead for the World Cup next year.
Portugal, who won the inaugural edition of the Nations League in 2018-19, will face Spain or in Sunday’s final after fighting back for a 2-1 semi-final win in Munich.
Florian Wirtz’s header gave the advantage early in the second half, but Francisco Conceicao’s stunning effort dragged Portugal level before Nuno Mendes teed up Cristiano Ronaldo for a 68th-minute winner.
Portugal improved massively after half-time, having only ed four shots (one on target) to ’s seven (four on target) in the opening period.
After the interval, they fired off 13 shots while only facing two, getting five of those attempts, which were worth 2.3 expected goals (xG), on target.
Martinez put their second-half improvement down to tactical intelligence when speaking in his post-match press conference, saying: “There are a lot of things you have to do well if you want to play eye-to-eye with .
“We could have had more possession, the space was there, and we didn’t look for it in the best way.
“The important thing is to be competitive. We need flexibility to use the individual capacity of our players. We improved in front of goal after the first half.
“This was a victory for the team. Tactically we were exceptional, the commitment helped, we need to enjoy this victory.”
Portugal have disappointed at major tournaments recently, exiting the 2022 World Cup against Morocco in the quarter-finals then losing to at the same stage of Euro 2024.
Martinez is excited for his team to continue their development and believes Sunday’s Nations League final will serve as excellent preparation for the World Cup.
“Every game is different, the opponents are more solid. Playing against is a quality game,” he said.
“The World Cup is 12 months away and we have to use all the games to prepare for it. Now we can evaluate. We want another performance with this personality.”
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