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Sweden has had a hard time in this year’s Nations League. The loss to Croatia on Sunday marked the third consecutive loss in the tournament. Now they are chasing the first victory, but face stiff opposition when the time comes to face Portugal. This time away from home in Lisbon.
Portugal, for their part, have put up an almost flawless effort in this year’s Nations League and remain undefeated. In the last match, the Portuguese won 2-0 at the Friends stadium after two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo.
During Monday night The men’s team held a press conference in which some of the players were informed about their expectations before the match.
It was a lot about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Dejan Kulusevski, who plays for Juventus, the same club as the world star, tells how it feels to meet his teammate this Wednesday:
– We have talked about the game and we have joked a bit about it. I said they will make it difficult. He’s impressed with how we play. It will be fun to meet you.
– There is no one who can stop Ronaldo if he has a good day. We didn’t make it the last time. On Wednesday we have another chance. To be successful, you have to be aggressive in your game, says Dejan Kulusevski.
Victor Nilsson Lindelöf shares Kulusevski’s opinion:
– Ronaldo is one of the best players of all time. It will be a difficult task. You must not lose sight of it or give it a meter.
– If we want to win on Wednesday, we must reach the level we showed in the second half of the match against Croatia. We have to get involved from the beginning. We have to put it all. Both in attack and defense. They should be allowed to chase the ball, says Victor Nilsson Lindelöf.
Kristoffer Olsson, Albin Ekdal and Victor Nilsson Lindelöf during the Croatia match on Sunday.
Photo: Ludvig Thunman
Albin Ekdal on Portugal:
– They have world players in all positions and are one of the best national teams in the world. They play good soccer with fast passes. But we will focus on our game. We want to play the whole game with the same energy that we did in the second half against Croatia.
– We will do everything possible to score points in the Portugal game. We don’t want to leave group A. It is between us and Croatia, says Ekdal.
Robin Quaison emphasizes the importance of the next game:
– It’s very important. It is time for us to start scoring, he says and praises the effort against Croatia:
– We do a good second half. Team morale is not as bad as you might think.
Quaison suffered an injury during the first match against Portugal. However, he does not want to reveal if he is ready for Wednesday’s games.
– I’ll train tomorrow. That’s all I can say, he says.
After the defeat against Croatia on Sunday, Sweden are now last in group A and are in danger of leaving. A drop to Group B means a deterioration of the seed and less money from UEFA, linked to the Nations League.
