Bernardo SilvaPortugal midfielder, accompanied Roberto Martinez to the press conference on the eve of the Euro 2024 quarter-final match against France: “It’s the knockout stage of a European Championship and all the teams are very well organised. They defend in low blocks with five or six players in defence, everyone returns behind the ball. Sometimes it’s difficult to create many chances”.
The victory against Slovenia: “We felt relieved, we felt happy. It’s not easy to play the way we played and go to penalties. We felt we deserved to qualify and we trained hard to be ready to play against France.”
France: “I don’t know how they will play. Looking at the players they have, they are not equipped to be defensive, with 11 players behind the ball for 90 minutes. So there could be more space for our team. I am very motivated: this is an incredible opportunity to get closer to our main objective, which is to bring the trophy home. Two national teams with extraordinary players will face each other, any player can make the difference. They legitimately want it, so I don’t think there are any favorites.”
On Mbappé: “Kylian is a wonderful player. He started with us at Monaco, at 16, and after a week I said to Moutinho ‘Who is this boy?’ He immediately stood out. In my last season at Monaco he scored a lot and shone in the Champions League. I’m happy that he was able to have such an important career and I wish him the best for his career, but not tomorrow.”