Dalot: "Don't just analyze Portugal; look at the other teams too"

Diogo Dalot spoke to reporters in the mixed zone following Portugal's draw against Colombia. The 'Seleção das Quinas' finished second in their group and are set to face Croatia in the Round of 16.

"Let's not forget we're playing against a team historically strong in World Cups. We must respect Colombia. The quality of their players was evident. Obviously, we wanted to win and finish first. Now we face another strong team in Croatia; we need to win and advance to the next stage. Our mistake was falling into Colombia's game, which thrives on transitions. We knew they were strong in that area, and if we made that error, we'd expend a lot of energy. It felt that way, but there were moments when we managed to control it. It was a tough match that could have gone either way," he said when asked if the national team underperformed in the group stage.

"We did underperform, not with the Colombia result, but against DR Congo. We should have won that game, and we don't shy away from that responsibility. I want to convey the message that the most important thing, and what we aimed for, was to qualify. Now we have Croatia ahead of us," he commented, also addressing the performance of other national teams.

"We're not hiding. We'll analyze the game; there are things we need to improve, but it's impossible not to have areas for improvement. There are no perfect games. Don't just analyze Portugal; look at the other teams too. This is the demanding nature of a World Cup. We hope the Portuguese fans will be with us against Croatia," he concluded.