Sporting boss weighs up Champions League chances: it’s going to be tough | OneFootball

Micael Sequeira, coach of the Sporting women's football team, highlighted the challenges his team will face in the third qualifying phase of the Champions League. The lionesses will face Roma next Thursday, September 11, in a round played over two matches, and the Portuguese coach, aware of the obstacles, believes it is possible to overcome the Italians - despite not being able to count on several important players.

"AS Roma, like us, made many changes and became much stronger than last season. It is a team with excellent individuals, mixing experience and youth, changed its style of play and now presents itself very offensively, capable of switching from 5-4-1 to 3-4-3", Micael Sequeira began to explain regarding the organization of the Italians.

The Sporting coach continued: "The squad was built with great care and consideration, reinforcing key positions. I am very pleased with the players who have arrived and those who remain. We will be more mature at certain moments and add youth and willingness when necessary. We want a balanced team, that knows how to defend and wait, but also press and counterattack when needed".

"Facing a team of this magnitude, it would be mentally of tremendous impact. It will be very difficult, but not impossible. We will try to be happy. It would be a deserved reward for the players and the staff, for the work done in this long pre-season", he further explained about the importance a possible victory would have.

He concluded with another reflection on the opportunity Sporting has: "We have never achieved this before. For Portugal, it would also be fantastic to eliminate an Italian team and to be present at this stage would be a positive sign for the growth of women's football in the country and for the National Team itself. For this group and for the Club, it would be fantastic".

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