Pedro Neto: "We don't depend on Ronaldo, we have confidence in him"

Following a wave of criticism directed at Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the Portuguese squad, Pedro Neto addressed their return to winning ways and defended the captain, who scored twice in the 5-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan, without using the word "dependency."

"Cristiano is incredibly important to us, but 'dependent' is too strong a word. We know that if the ball gets into the box, the probability of him scoring is very high, but we create opportunities for all our players. We have our standards, our playing style, and I don't think we have that dependency on him, but rather that confidence," he stated in a press conference, before discussing the upcoming match against Colombia.

"We know we're facing a team that missed out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, an opponent that's in good form, has a strong squad, and was a finalist in the Copa América. The key word is resilience, and I'd add hard work. That's what we've been doing; we've been resilient, we've worked very hard. For the Colombia game, that's the key, knowing they are a very combative team, a South American team strong in that aspect, and we need to match or surpass them," he explained, commenting on the "anger" the coach described as a catalyst for turning around their early tournament performance.

"I don't think it was so much anger; it was more about wanting to play an even better game. In the first match, I believe we started well, then we let our intensity drop a bit, also because it was the first game. The way we entered the game was clear, and we've managed to maintain that rhythm. Portugal as a contender? Everyone knows the quality we possess, the unity, especially since we won the Nations League. All teams look at us differently after that competition. It's about doing our job and going as far as possible," he noted, expressing a desire to win the title.