Marcelo visits Dragão, confident: "Portugal will win in America" | OneFootball

After securing qualification for the 2026 World Cup at Estádio do Dragão, with a 9-1 victory over Armenia, the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, took the opportunity to honor the protagonists of the conquest of the third senior Portuguese football trophy in Germany.

“First of all, my congratulations to the team that became champions six months ago. There could be no better moment for decorations than today. Then, congratulations for the unforgettable day we had today, both for us and for the millions of Portuguese people around the world. All the others will certainly be winners in the United States. In America, it will be Portugal. This means that Portugal will win,” said the President of the Republic.

Nuno Mendes, Pedro Gonçalves, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Rodrigo Mora were not present among the honorees and were represented by the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proença.

At the end of the ceremony, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reflected on the journey of the ‘quinas’ team during his term.

“It was a very victorious cycle. We started with the victory at Euro 2016, in France, and it was a leap for Portuguese football like we hadn’t seen in a long time. Three years later, we achieved the first Nations League, here in Porto, in an unforgettable way, and now the second, beating Spain in the very last seconds, a historic moment,” he recalled.

“As I summed up, in a phrase that is somewhat the campaign we will run in the USA: ‘Vai dar Portugal’. This phrase works in Portuguese and also in English.”

About to finish his term, Marcelo expressed the wish that his successor shares the same “passion” for football.

“A Portuguese person who doesn’t have a passion for football is a somewhat distracted Portuguese. I am sure that the winning candidate will have this passion and will follow along. And there will be plenty to follow, because the first preparation challenge will come right after the new president takes office,” he observed.

The head of state also remembered the late Portuguese international Diogo Jota, a member of the victorious Nations League campaign.

“We have already paid tribute to that young man who had his future ahead of him. The last memory I have of him was from the Nations League. He was one of the most promising, enthusiastic young players, and he was at the height of his joy. Today, in the 21st minute, you could see the whole stadium thinking of him, and he will never be forgotten,” he emphasized.

In today’s match, Eusébio was also remembered: the players wore black kits as a tribute to the former Portuguese football legend.

“Eusébio was honored on the kit, with the presence of family members, and we always remember him. I was a kid and had the joy of seeing, in England, the 5-3 match against North Korea [World Cup 1966]. All Portuguese people saw what he did for the country, and even that fit well on today’s day,” Marcelo concluded.

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