Nearing 40, he's off to the World Cup: goal v Sporting was my biggest | OneFootball

Stopira, Torreense’s captain, was decisive in winning the Portuguese Cup. On June 24, at the Jamor Stadium, the Torres Vedras club beat Sporting 2-1 after extra time, becoming the first-ever second-tier team to lift the trophy in Portugal’s premier cup competition.

“I’ve scored many goals, but this was the most important of my career. The level of responsibility I had at that moment because it was going to decide the course of the game... It’s the most important goal of my career,” Stopira said in an interview with Lusa.

In the decisive clash of the 86th edition of the competition, Kevin Zohi put the Oeste side ahead after four minutes, a score that Luis Suárez - the Lions’ top scorer this season - leveled in the 54th minute, with no winner emerging by the end of regular time. In the 113th minute, following a penalty that sent off Maxi Araújo, the 38-year-old Cape Verdean, who will be at the World Cup, stepped up to take responsibility.

Stopira admitted he was not nervous. “A lot of people asked that, but honestly I wasn’t. I was calm because I felt very confident, that it was our moment and our time. I ended up telling my teammates that I would take it myself because I was confident. I took responsibility fully and knew how significant it was at that moment. It was our time,” he noted.

“Even before the match, I was talking to my teammates and saying that the first thing we had to do was believe it was possible. Only by believing could it become possible. Even taking into account the opponent, Sporting’s strength, who are top three in Portugal and one of the best teams in Europe right now,” he said, stressing that the confidence was already there before kickoff.

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