Portugal celebrate an important victory (Allsport)
OLIVEIRA PLEASED WITH IMPROVED SIDE
Click here to place your World Cup bets!
Click here for Portugal team section
Click here for Poland team section
Click here for teams index
Click here for latest World Cup headlines
Click here for World Cup photo gallery
Click here for World Cup Bettingzone
Portugal coach Antonio Oliveira welcomed a more battling display from his side
as they beat Poland 4-0 to get their World Cup hopes back on track.
Pauleta struck a hat-trick and Rui Costa added a fourth as they bounced back
from their opening defeat to the United States.
"All of the players did what they had to do today," he said.
"The big difference was the team spirit. With this attitude, which was not
individual but collective, it is easier to get the victory.
"However it is not a question of winning our first game or second game, our
idea is only to get to the next round. We have got a team that can go further in
this competition."
Oliveira was aware though that they still have a lot to do before they can make
the last 16.
"The future is only in a few days and of course the morale of the team is
much better after this," he continued.
"But the only thing we can do now is to win the next big game.
"Let us now wait until the next game to see if it is possible to get the
three points again.
"Korea are a very good side, very fast and they will be prepared."
Poland were the first team to qualify for the World cup, but also one of the
first to go out today.
And coach Jerzy Engel believes the players may have accepted just being at the
tournament for the first time since 1986 was enough.
"We were in the World Cup for only the second time in 16 years and it was not
easy to prepare our players for such difficult games like we have had," he
said.
"It was tricky to believe that we could get through. We had hopes but of
course they were only hopes.
"It seems that we were too weak. When you are fighting for something for 16
years, players some times think they have done it all when they achieve it.
"They are so happy to be here, but you have to work harder and harder
otherwise you are out."
Engel admitted his players let their heads drop after conceding the second goal
in the 65th minute.
"We were ready for a battle because we knew today could be the end for one of
the sides," he said.
"I do not think it was a bad match for us, up to 2-0 it was fairly even and
we had some chances, but we didn't have anyone who could get the goal.
"But slowly the morale of the team was getting lower and lower and by the
time we conceded the second goal it was very low."
Poland captain Tomasz Waldoch apologised to their supporters following the
convincing defeat.
"We're sorry to the Polish fans. We lost 4-0 but it shouldn't really have
gone that far," he said.
"I thought we did better than when we lost to Korea, but the result is we
still lost.
"We will now do our best to at least try and end our World Cup on a positive
note in our final game against the United States."
|
