Thiago Dantas takes friendly matches ‘seriously’ to prepare for UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Thiago Dantas said the Portugal under-21 team should take the friendly matches against the Czech Republic and Japan “seriously” as they internalize the ideas and gameplay for the 2023 European Championship.
“We approach two games with the seriousness we take all games. They will serve as a preparation for the European Championship. (…) We want to go two games to win and show all the qualities of the Portuguese player and the selection,” said the midfielder at a press conference in Lagos, where the team has been training since Monday.
The Greek player from PAOK Thessaloniki, on loan from Benfica, believes that the preparations for the matches against the Czech Republic and Japan, which are scheduled in Portimão, are “going well”.
“This is another stage of preparation for a big goal – the European Championship at the end of the season. This will be important because for obvious reasons we do not have much time to train all together. here we are trying to make the most of it to assimilate the ideas, the processes of the game and merge more and more with them,” said Thiago Dantas.
In the final stage of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2023, Portugal are in Group A, where they will face Georgia (June 21), the Netherlands (24) and Belgium (27).
“Everyone comes with the intention of doing their best. The coach sees us not only here, in the context of the national team, but also in the context of the club. He knows the qualities of the players he brings. Everyone wants to show themselves.” midfielder assured.
Portugal will play the Czech Republic and Japan on 18 and 22 November respectively, both games at the Municipal Stadium of Portimão at 19:15.
