Nuno Mendes scored a powerful penalty to bring victory to Uzbekistan

Portugal national team defender Nuno Mendes shared his thoughts on the winning goal scored in the match against Uzbekistan during the World Cup group stage. Zamin.uz reported on this.

The Portuguese footballer changed the score in the seventeenth minute of the match by taking a direct free kick. Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo, a skilled free-kick specialist, was also standing over the ball in that situation.

However, Mendes took the shot unexpectedly for the opponent. According to the player, this combination did not happen by chance.

The Portugal national team specifically prepared this during training. We worked this out in training.

Usually, everyone thinks Cristiano will take the free kick. We may use this method in the future as well.

Perhaps another player will take the shot instead of me, but it could work again, Mendes said. The defender also noted that the Portuguese players maintained a high level of focus throughout every minute of the game against Uzbekistan.

We are very happy. We remained fully focused throughout the game.

Now we need to recover well and prepare for the next match. Our goal is to take first place in the group, he said.

Nuno Mendes also commented on the criticism surrounding the national team. According to him, pressure and criticism are an integral part of professional football.

Criticism is part of football. We have grown accustomed to it.

Everyone in the team helps each other and is ready for any pressure. The most important thing is to demonstrate the game the coach demands and stay true to our idea, the Portugal national team defender added.

Source: one.uz