Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo blame luck after losing 1-0 to Germany, which according to them was not a fair reflection of their side’s performance.
The match between the European powerhouses was a rather cagey encounter, both sides struggled to score. Portugal created more chances than their opponents, but failed to convert their chances.
The Germans made Paulo Bento’s side pay for their poor finishing by taking the lead and shutting them out. Joachim Low’s men managed to contain their opponents for most of the game. Portuguese attackers managed to test Manuel Neuer
a few times, but the Bayern Munich goalkeeper proved to be a handful, and looked unbeatable.
The Real Madrid number 7 knows his side were superior to their opponents, but failed to get a result. The Portuguese captain compares his side’s shaky Euro 2012 start to their 2004 one. Portugal started the 2004 European championship
with a defeat, and then went all the way to the final.
"We have to take as an example the team of 2004, when we also started with a defeat, but then reached the final," he is quoted as saying in an interview.
Another Real Madrid player to bemoan the unfair loss was Pepe, who believes his side played the game with high intensity, created a lot of chances but for some reason the ball was unable to cross the goal line. Los Blancos defender
thinks his team should go through to the knockouts, because in the match against Germany they have showed what they are capable of.
"I thought we played at a high level but the ball just did not want to go in. We're sad about the result but still believe we can go through,” he is quoted as saying in an interview.
A Seleccao face Denmark in their next fixture of the Group of Death and would try to win this match. Morten Olsen’s side, however, are no pushover, their confidence will be sky high after their shock defeat to Netherlands. Bert
van Marwijk’s side were favourites to lift the trophy but the Danes had other things on their mind.
Portugal will treat this fixture with a lot of caution and will treat their next opponents with respect.
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