Bruno Fernandes, who missed the match against Ireland due to suspension, commented on Cristiano Ronaldo’s sending off in the 2-0 away defeat, which postponed Portugal’s early qualification for next year’s tournament in North America.
See the current standings in the European Qualifiers
“Cristiano reacted in a way that cost him dearly. It was clear he didn’t mean to do it, but it happened. He knows he made a mistake and unfortunately he won’t be able to help us tomorrow,” he said regretfully.
“Regardless of the red card, we were already behind on the scoreboard and that made things even harder, because we were down to ten men and lost a player who can score at any moment,” he added.
Follow Portugal vs Armenia with live commentary on Flashscore
Immediate improvement
Bruno pointed out what the national team, which only needs a win, must improve. “We need to move the ball faster, get more players into the box, and give more support to our forwards to put pressure on the opposition. We already needed to improve when we beat Spain and Germany, but mistakes get talked about more when we lose,” he emphasized.
The Manchester United player expects a tough match against a team likely to sit deep and try to snatch a draw, even though Armenia has no chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Armenia has only one win in five qualifying matches.
“The goal is to win every game, no matter who we’re up against. We go for it, we have a squad with great quality and the ability to win big matches, even against teams that defend deep, like Ireland. We want to win the World Cup and we’ve never hidden that—it’s every Portuguese player’s dream. It was the same with the Euros, and we achieved it in 2016. To make that dream come true, we have to win games,” he concluded.
