Sporting boss eyes European journey: We just have to... | OneFootball

Sporting’s women’s football team was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Europa Cup after losing to Hammarby on penalties in Stockholm, following a balanced tie that was only decided in the penalty shootout. However, Micael Sequeira did not hide his appreciation for the work his players put in.

"With a very young team and many absences, we ended up winning here against a team that has existed since 1970, with many years of women’s football and one of the first teams at the European level. We can only be proud, the players should be very proud of what we did and I believe that today we actually managed to beat a great team here," said the coach, after a bittersweet victory on Swedish soil.

In fact, the Lionesses won 1-0 in regular time, but were overtaken in the penalty shootout (5-4) by the Scandinavian side, in an emotional match from which Micael Sequeira came away with a sense of encouragement for the future.

"It was very good, a great spectacle in which we really promoted women’s football. It was a balanced match, there were moments when Hammarby was on top, at other times Sporting managed to balance things out and take the lead, and scored a great goal through Telma," noted the women’s football coach of Sporting, highlighting the spectacular finish by the Portuguese international.

"As I said in the preview, it was possible for us to win here, and we actually did. It’s a pity that, afterwards, in the penalty shootout, we lost the way we did, but all that’s left is to praise the excellent campaign we had in this competition. This year we managed to beat great European teams – Roma, Rosengard, Glasgow, and Hammarby, so it was a fantastic journey. I would say it was an excellent introduction for what’s to come in the future," he concluded.

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