Portugal coach: 'Beautiful play doesn't always win'

Fernando Santos had no qualms about Portugal's defensive approach in their 1-0 win over Croatia in the round of 16 of Euro 2016.

For coach Santos, winning is the most important thing, not fair play or foul play. Photo: Reuters

Portugal went all out in defence against Croatia, with even Cristiano Ronaldo often dropping back to support his teammates in the backline. Santos' team struggled to endure the match and in the 117th minute, when their opponents missed their chance, they counter-attacked quickly and scored the decisive goal of the match. Goalkeeper Subasic blocked Ronaldo's shot, but Quaresma was there immediately to head the ball into the empty net.

“This moment is so sweet. It was a match between two strong teams. We kept our heads cool and got through. Portugal deserved this victory. Playing beautiful football is great, but sometimes that is not the way to win,” coach Santos said happily after Portugal won their first victory at Euro 2016.

The strategist born in 1954 said that the match between Portugal and Croatia was a tense tactical first match, both teams tried to prevent the opponent from deploying the game as desired. As a result, his team was stronger both mentally and physically, winning a ticket to the quarter-finals against Poland.

Quaresma, the only scorer of the match, said: “Croatia are really strong, with many quality players. But the important thing is that Portugal defends well and knows how to launch counter-attacks at the right time.”

It was not until the fourth match that Portugal finally knew the taste of victory. Photo: Reuters.

According to VNE