Fátima Pinto guarantees Portugal focused on “beating Serbia” – DNOTICIAS.PT
Portuguese footballer Fátima Pinto is confident Portugal will perform at a good level against Serbia on Thursday in Setúbal, but admits that they are “a difficult opponent” in the race for the 2023 World Cup.
“Serbia are a very tough team, they defend well and attack in an organized way. They are a difficult opponent, they have many players in the Nordic championships and we know how difficult we will be. But, we only think about winning the three points”, said the Sporting player.
Among those chosen by Francisco Neto for a double round with Serbia and Bulgaria are many Sporting and Benfica players and Fátima Pinto admits that this is an advantage when there are few days that as players to work together, but emphasizes that, in this In this case, they all ‘paddle’ to the same side.
“Getting to know each other better can help, but when we get here, we’re all for the same thing. Success here is going to the World Cup and, for that, we have to beat Serbia. That’s what we want,” said the ‘Leonina’ midfielder. , who assumes that the “dream” is to reach the Worlds, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand.
Fátima Pinto guarantees that the Portuguese national team’s ambition is a new presence in a World Cup.
“From the moment we enter a qualification, that’s what we think about. That’s what we want and that’s what we work for. It’s a difficult goal, but the only way we’re left is to work harder and better.” .
The set of ‘quinas’ follows in second place in Group H, with four points, in two games, against six of the leaders Germany, also in two games. In just one game, Turkey have one point and Serbia, Israel and Bulgaria are at zero.
Francisco Neto’s men drew 1-1 in Turkey (September 16) and thrashed 4-0 in Israel (19), while the Serbs were thrashed 5-1 in Germany (21).
Portugal face Serbia on Thursday, at 18:00, at the Estádio do Bonfim, in Setúbal, in a Group H qualifying game for the 2023 World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand (July 20th to August 20th).