Portugal 1-2 South Korea match reaction: “We have to learn our lessons when we don’t play well” - Ronaldo | OneFootball

Fernando Santos and his Portugal players were disappointed but not crestfallen after the 2-1 defeat to South Korea this afternoon.

The overall sentiment was that lessons should be learned from the loss, but the squad remained focused and confident ahead of their last-16 match next Tuesday.

Fernando Santos

“I knew that Korea were a tough and high-quality team. They never give up and we couldn’t fall asleep if we wanted to win this game.

We started well, making things difficult for Korea: fast passing, varying our play, playing over the top for our wide players or midfielders. We did this well, scored a goal and created three or four situations like that. Korea tried to hit back but we shut them out with good organisation.

“In the first half we were the better team, although they ended up equalising from a set piece. In the second half we should have done what we had done in the first 20 minutes to take Korea out of the game.

We lost our organisation in transition, and from a corner in our favour we were hit with a counter-attack. It can’t happen again, because in a World Cup that can be fatal.

“The game leaves us disappointed because we wanted to finish top, but with a victory and a good performance so our confidence levels would continue to increase. I don’t think the players will lose confidence, but it’s a serious warning. That’s the positive thing we can take from this game.”

“It was a very tough game, as are all games in such a balanced tournament like this. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but we achieved our goal which was to qualify in first place.

“This defeat does not mean anything, because we achieved our objective. Of course, we wanted to win, we should have played better, especially in the second half, but we faced an excellent team that did all they could to qualify and they managed to. There are two good teams [from this group] in the last 16.”

Ronaldo

“We knew in advance we had qualified and it would need almost a miracle for us not to finish top. But I don’t want that to be an excuse. Korea played well, they deserved it, and we have to learn our lessons when we don’t play well. I hope we can learn from this defeat and we have to win the next game.”

Diogo Dalot

“I think we could have controlled the game better, especially when we had the ball. It was difficult to get past South Korea’s first line of strong pressing, especially in the second half.

They modified their wide players and caused us trouble to start with. We wanted to have more control and I think that’s where we went wrong.

“We also failed in small details where South Korea are strong, like transitions. We have to look at this game as a learning exercise, recover well and be ready for Tuesday.

“Were we over-confident? No. That’s not the right attitude. Although there were lots of changes, we all adore playing for Portugal and we want to show the coach we are all ready.

South Korea are a strong team, they have their merit, but we could have controlled the game better. It was our mistakes that led to their goals. We created chances and could have scored more goals too.”

António Silva

“Above all we lacked more Portugal. We lacked speed in the last third. That’s how we scored our goal and we created another chance that could have been a goal. South Korea grew in belief; they scored from a set piece and made it 2-1 in a transition.

“We’re disappointed but we’re in the World Cup. We’ll head into the last 16 with great ambition. My debut? That’s not important. The team put in a good display. Now we have to pick ourselves up and prepare for the next match.”

By Tom Kundert