Portugal dominated their opening match of the 2024 World Cup, securing a commanding victory over Panama and earning their first three points with an impressive performance.
Now, with those points in the bag, the team shifts its focus to the next match against Tajikistan on Thursday. Reflecting on the Panama match, Jorge Braz, in his post-game comments to SportTV, expressed satisfaction with the result.
Jorge Braz on Portugal’s performance:
“The first minute showed that Panama has some talented, bold players, and we just needed to control that. We started strong, doing what was needed, showing great variation in our play by stretching Panama’s defense, finding space with depth and width. I’m very happy with such a typically Portuguese start in our World Cup opener.”
On the decisive result:
“Every match is different. My mind is already on Tajikistan, which will be a tougher challenge with a different structure, but we’ll be ready. We’ve got the first three points and we’re aiming for the next three.”
“It was clear that Panama was tiring and looking to take risks. By increasing our movement and keeping things simple, we could wear them down and create space… Forty minutes of top-quality futsal.”