Paul Roger, Media365: Published on Monday, November 20, 2023 at 6:16 p.m.
If they can win on Tuesday night in Greece, the Blues will be the only ones, along with the Portuguese, to achieve complete success in European Nations Cup qualifiers. But Didier Deschamps does not attach special importance to it.
The Portuguese squad, now coached by Roberto Martinez, will move to Group J of the qualifiers for Euro 2024. Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates won ten matches out of ten, scoring 36 goals against only two goals and cards against Luxembourg (9-0). 6-0), Bosnia (5-0), Liechtenstein (4-0). At the age of 38, “CR7”, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, showed that he is still in good form, as he finished as top scorer with 10 goals, another record. Easily qualify for this upcoming European Championship, which will be held in Germany from June 14 to July 14. The Portuguese are the only ones at the moment who have achieved complete success In this decisive campaign. But the Blues have the opportunity to do the same on Tuesday night against Greece.
Deschamps: “It's not the Grand Slam of rugby”
Three days after a historic success, in terms of magnitude, against Gibraltar (14-0), Didier Deschamps' men have the chance to win for the eighth time in as many matches in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. In Group B, which includes one team less than Portuguese, they scored 27 goals and conceded only one goal, last month in Amsterdam during a 2-1 win over the Netherlands. And on Tuesday evening in Athens, at AEK Stadium, the Tricolors could also succeed in winning all their matches. “This is not a rugby grand slam,” Deschamps said Monday in a news conference. We will play to win, but that will not give us any certain guarantees. Finding the levers is important, but is it… We want to remain flawless. When we respect the opponent, we go all the way and score goals when we have opportunities. High level, that's all. After that, we can also control some times during the match.”
