Coach René Pauric said this Wednesday that Liechtenstein will face Portugal ‘open-chested’ in Group J of the Euro 2024 qualifying round, looking to achieve the ‘dream’ of a draw.
“That would be a dream [conseguir um empate]but times have changed. We have big changes, we have new players, but better, and tomorrow we will play with an open heart. [quinta-feira]”, predicted René Pauric on the eve of the match of the first day.
The 59-year-old Austrian coach spoke at a press conference to announce a challenge against the Kinas team, an opponent who, according to the coach, “wants to leave a good image” in the debut of coach Roberto Martinez.
“It’s not a disadvantage for me. [Portugal ter um selecionador novo]. I think it motivates their players a lot, tickets to the stadium will be sold out and they will do their best. They will want to leave a good image,” he defended.
The captain of the Liechtenstein national team was also present at the conference, guaranteeing that, together with his colleagues, he would “try to make things harder” for the Portuguese players and avoid being crushed.
“We have a tight defense. We will try to make the task of Portugal more difficult, we will close the lines and hope that we will not lose. We can score a goal, that would be a great consolation. An honest goal would be something fabulous and we won’t give up,” said Nicolas Hasler.
Portugal will make their debut in Group J of the 2024 European Championship qualification on Thursday against Liechtenstein at 19:45 at the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon.
Three days later, the Kinas team travels to the Luxembourgō Stadium to face the local team, also from 19:45 (Lisbon time).
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia and Iceland are the other teams that make up the Euro 2024-qualified ‘Group J’, with Portugal needing one of the top two places to have direct access to the final phase of the competition scheduled for Germany (14 June to July 14, 2024).