Roberto Martinez says his Portugal players need to be more like Georgia in the Euro 2024 knockouts.
Euro 2016 winners Portugal were stunned by the side ranked 74th in the world in Gelsenkirchen in the Group F finale on Wednesday night.
Martinez made eight changes for the fixture, with his side already assured of finishing top, but saw their 12-match winning run dating back to Qatar 2022 ended by the minnows, who only qualified via the Nations League.
“It’s a defeat,” Martinez told uefa.com. “We started with low intensity, we conceded early and that’s what Georgia needed.
“We weren’t clear-headed enough with the last pass and in front of goal, and their goalkeeper had an amazing performance. We tried to score but couldn’t, and that made Georgia believe all the more. They deserved to win.”
Group F ✅
Portugal, Türkiye & Georgia go through! 👏#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/z6pYkaXqMz
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 26, 2024
Martinez claimed his side were unlucky at times, but said Georgia’s hunger proved the difference.
“We tried to score and at times we were unlucky. I don’t think it was tactics or players today, I think it was about the power and the intensity that Georgia showed.
“We need to play at a high pace, high intensity. Georgia were playing to be part of history and we didn’t match them. They scored early then defended deep and hit us on the break.”
Slovenia are next up in Frankfurt on Monday night (8pm BST) and Martinez warned: “There are no easy games; today was a perfect example of that.
“When we win, it’s not because the game is easy. We had a friendly against Slovenia but it won’t be the same on Sunday. They’re a national team who play like a club side: very defensive, two very influential strikers and we’ll need to prepare well.
“Losing today will prepare our team better from a mental standpoint.”
Expect the Portugal aide to bear little resemblance to the one which took the field against Georgia, however.
“It was the last game in the group stage,” Martinez said. “It was a day to give other players an opportunity, players that we need to see how they’re doing and who can help us.
“By preparing for the last 16, I mean individual preparation; today we wanted to rotate, to give other players some minutes and have the team be more ready to play the last 16.”
