Former Benfica striker on Portugal: Back then there was already... | OneFootball

It was 20 years ago that Kikin Fonseca scored his only World Cup goal in the defeat against Portugal, in the third matchday of the group stage. The former Mexico international, who played for Benfica, took advantage of the friendly between the national teams to recall that moment and admit a certain preference for Portugal’s 2006 generation.

"Back then there was already Cristiano Ronaldo, and they had Luís Figo, Simão Sabrosa - who was mentioned by Lúcia Alves -, Maniche, who scored against us, and my teammate Petit. It was a very good national team with players who were not at clubs as high-profile as today’s, but who had a lot of quality," he said in an interview with Record newspaper.

Although the goal was not enough to avoid defeat (2-1), Kikin Fonseca highlighted that moment, which was key to his move to the Luz. "Scoring against big teams is always very good, and I remember that, despite the defeat, I ended up receiving the award for man of the match. It would go on to help me secure the transfer to Benfica", he admitted.

As for the match played between the two national teams last Sunday, the former Benfica player believes the final score was the ideal one. "It was a fair result, Mexico played well in the first half, pressing Portugal so they would not feel comfortable, and that was clear in the misplaced passes. Then, with the changes, important midfield players like Vitinha and João Neves came on, and they ended up 'stealing' the ball from the Mexicans," he analyzed.

Kikin Fonseca joined Benfica at the start of the 2006/2007 season. Although he did not establish himself at the Luz, the former Mexican striker scored three goals (against Belenenses and a brace against Oliveira de Bairro) in 13 matches. Kikin would retire in 2013.

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