According to "AS" newspaper, Portugal's early exit from the FIFA World Cup as a favorite was hard for the Portuguese people to accept. Quaresma fiercely criticized the national team, and he also had an argument with Ruben Dias.
Quaresma stated: "Everyone said this team was the strongest in Portugal's history, but strong in what way? What honors did they win? We could only go home with our heads down. The team's midfield was full of talented players, but they performed extremely poorly in this FIFA World Cup. The offense was also weak, and the defense was completely disorganized. I'd better stop here, or I'll say things I'll regret later."
He also had an argument with Ruben Dias: "Ruben Dias, you were also a professional player, and you know that everyone's personality and mentality need to be adapted. You were a master of individual defense back then, good at one-on-one confrontations, but 'playing well' cannot be judged by individuals alone. Truly good football requires control of the ball, without constantly chasing it frantically, emphasizing efficiency and patience. The team needs a balance between offense and defense, and each player's ideas in the team are inherently different..."
"The characteristics of teammates should be fully utilized. We have players like Rafael Leao, Neto, and Conceição who are good at one-on-one breakthroughs and can tear open the opponent's defense. Football is not just about ball control; it's about advancing the attack more..."
Ruben Dias stated: "Everyone has their own opinions, but your view is too one-sided. You can't mislead the public into thinking that we don't want to play like that..."
Quaresma: "I'm not misleading anyone."
Ruben Dias: "Every game we play is to find a balance between offense and defense. Blind aggression is useless and will only make us constantly chase the ball back and forth. We should remain rational and objective; this is what we have always pursued. We have tried our best. Again, this was the best game against Spain I have played since joining the national team."
Quaresma completely denied Portugal's performance in this FIFA World Cup: "In my opinion, everything was a mess from beginning to end. Nothing was done well, no game could be called a good performance, and there was no situation where the offense was full-on but it was just bad luck."
"Even in this match against Spain, we gave up the initiative from the start. Spain firmly controlled the situation throughout the game, dominating the pace as they pleased, speeding up when they wanted and slowing down when they wanted; in contrast, we lacked fight and passion throughout, with slow and numb movements."
He also criticized coach Martinez: "And those incomprehensible substitutions... I'm tired of saying it, Martinez has never convinced me. I don't care if everyone gets angry after hearing this, this team needs more fighting spirit."
"Since Martinez took office, I have never seen the national team play a decent game. This is the truth. He tried 50 tactics, and none of them worked. Now the result is before us, this team, which everyone called the strongest in history, went home early."
AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com