Ireland coach: They cannot attack rashly when facing Portugal. They will keep passing the ball to the penalty area to find Ronaldo.

6686 Sports reported on November 12 that in the 9th round of Group F of the World European Qualifiers, Ireland will face Portugal. Before the game, Ireland coach Hardgrimsson attended the press conference.

Talk about Portugal

This is probably the most important game since I took over, but as we said before, we won't be able to determine how high the risk is until Armenia's game against Hungary is over, and then we can respond to this issue.

The result of this game may not matter, but we need to get at least one point. Of course, this is about qualifying for the World Cup, so from this perspective, this is definitely the most critical game since I coached.

Talk about competition strategy

Against a team like Portugal, whether we need to win or draw, we must adhere to a specific style of competition. We can't rush forward, it won't be a goal-scoring battle. If we need to score a goal late in the game, we take calculated risks.

Talk about whether the players are under pressure

It can be seen from the performance of the players. I know them. All real professional players love such big scenes because there are so many things hanging in the balance.

Talk about the 0-1 loss to Portugal in the last match

Considering that there were not many scoring opportunities last time, Portugal is likely to make some adjustments this time. They only had some outside shots and passes into the penalty area, but we successfully controlled the attack rhythm.

It is impossible for us to defend against all their threats. This is unrealistic. So we need to give up some areas appropriately, and we know how to deal with it, and we hope to have a similar performance tomorrow.

Discussing Ronaldo’s influence on Portugal

His statistics speak for themselves and he can still score many goals and break many records. Part of the reason why Portugal is a unique attacking team is Ronaldo's strong desire to score goals.

They will constantly pass the ball into the penalty area and try their best to find where Ronaldo is. Most teams will slow down when they are in the lead, but Portugal likes to score more goals, and Ronaldo is one of the keys to the team's ability to maintain this attacking attribute.

Talk about the characteristics of Portugal

Portugal’s biggest advantage is undoubtedly the transition between offense and defense. After they regain the ball, they have extremely fast advancement speed and excellent personal ability. If they are given such an opportunity, they will definitely punish us. So we have to make sure we don't lose the ball in dangerous areas.

Talk about Portugal's weaknesses

We have identified some weaknesses in their team and they must be used wisely. I'm not going to get into specifics here, otherwise Martinez would be like, "Oh no, we have to adjust quickly." To be sure, Portugal is a strong team, but they also have some shortcomings, and our job is to try to exploit these shortcomings.