Benfica familiar previews Portugal v Ireland: expecting a tough test | OneFootball

Previewing the match between Portugal and Ireland, a former Benfica member believes it will be a very hard-fought duel between the two national teams.

During this international break, Portugal returns to the pitch tonight, October 10, to face Ireland, and Hélder Cristóvão has no doubts about the outcome of the match. In his preview, the former Benfica coach states that the national team is superior to their opponent.

In an interview with Agência Lusa, the Portuguese coach, who managed Benfica’s B team, acknowledged the quality of the opponent but is certain of one thing: “Back then, the teams were more evenly matched. At this moment, the National Team is the clear favorite. There’s no doubt about it.”

Looking back to 1995, the coach recalled the match he played in, where Portugal beat Ireland three-nil, with Hélder Cristóvão scoring one of the goals: “We knew the difficulties we would face, with an opponent that was always very combative. On the other hand, we knew we were playing at home, in a completely packed Estádio da Luz.”

However, in conversation with Lusa, before the start of another National Team match – which features António Silva – the former Benfica player ‘smiled’ as he recalled that the match was favorable for the Portuguese side: “There was some nervousness. (...) The game went very well for us. Everything went our way. We were always very dominant.”

“We play against national teams that allow us to always be in the decisive stages, whether in the Euros or the World Cup. If we had managed to stay in that state, with those [weaker] teams, we would certainly always be present in those competitive stages as well,” concluded Hélder Cristóvão in statements to Lusa.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.