Portugal in fine shape for Czech challenge,
Portugal are in good shape and ready to take on the Czech Republic in their bid to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2012, coach Paulo Bento said Wednesday.
Portugal had a day less to recover for the quarter-final match than their opponents but Bento dismissed fears this would put his side at a disadvantage in Warsaw's National Stadium on Thursday.
"We had four days (to recover) and the Czechs had one day more. I don't think this difference will have a great influence," he said.
"A team that played against Germany, Holland and Denmark will not have any problems with mental recovery. The physical recovery has been good, we are in a good physical condition."
Bento, whose side came back from a 1-0 defeat to Germany to beat Denmark 3-2 and the Netherlands 2-1, said he would not change his strategy or tactics to deal with the Czechs, but was mindful that an error in a knockout game could now have more importance.
"We can't compare the games we had before. Now we are in the knockout stage but we could not commit too many errors in the Denmark or Holland games either," he said.
"We are well prepared, have great confidence and also great humility which has helped us get this far, and that is what we have to combine the motivation with."
Much of the pre-match press conference centred around Cristiano Ronaldo, whose two goals against the Netherlands have kept him in the limelight, somewhat overshadowing the contributions of other players.
However midfielder Joao Moutinho said he did not mind the fact that his team-mate was getting all the attention.
"It's only natural there is a lot of talk about the best player in the world," said Moutinho who described the Portugal captain as "the complete player."
"He is in our team to help us and like all of us here has the same goal. He is a leader and he is continuing his work to do everything for the team."
Bento meanwhile said that Ronaldo did not have the freedom to do what he wanted on the pitch, quoting a saying that "talent can also be stressful" and indicating that guidance is even more necessary for a player with the gifts of the Real Madrid star.
"I don't just let him play, there are instructions, of course," the former international said, and added. "I will give him the best information and instructions to cope with the task."