Martinez wants to fully and increase the “level of demand” of Portugal

Coach Roberto Martinez said this Saturday that with qualification for Euro 2024 guaranteed, Portugal’s goal now is to complete qualification with only victories and increase the team’s “level of demand”.

“The first goal is to finish qualifying with 10 wins. This is an important and historic goal. And then create an atmosphere of competitiveness and clarity in the way we play. I really liked the individual dedication of the players and now we need to raise the level necessary for the team to win consistently,” said Roberto Martinez.

The Spanish coach spoke to reporters at the Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash with Iceland, which closes Group J of Euro 2024 qualifying.

“Iceland are a very objective team that likes to control the game correctly. They have new players that we didn’t play in the first game in Reykjavik. We will make decisions after the last training session. We need fresh players.” , He said.

Martinez spoke again at last Thursday’s meeting in Vaduz with Liechtenstein (2-0) and explained the use of four strikers from the “eleven” used by Portugal.

“It was a way to work on tactical discipline with more attacking players on the pitch. This is something that can be important at the European Championships. We can have games where we play 10, 15 minutes with so many strikers,” he believes. .

Answering a question about Portugal’s ambitions for Euro 2024, which will be held in Germany, the 50-year-old coach stressed that at the moment “the important thing is the game with Iceland and finishing the qualifying stage with victories.”

“We want to continue to grow, close out qualifying as best we can and celebrate. Celebration is also important,” he said. Regarding the match against the Northern European team, Martinez said that Diogo Costa will return against Portugal (José Sa made his debut in Liechtenstein) and that Raphael Guerreiro is in a position that can be used, although he is not yet physically fit to play. a full 90 minutes.

The Portugal-Iceland match from the 10th and final round of Group J of Euro 2024 qualifying is scheduled for 19:45 at the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon. He will be judged by the Greek Anastasios Papapetrou.

Portugal, who also secured Group J victory, top the group with 27 points, eight more than second-placed Slovakia and also qualified, while Luxembourg is third with 14 points. Iceland is in fourth place with 10 points, ahead of Bosnia. Herzegovina with nine and Liechtenstein in last place with no points.