Paulo Bento pointed to Portugal’s opening-game 4-0 defeat to Germany as the main reason for their early FIFA World Cup elimination.
The head coach watched on in Brasilia on Thursday as an own goal from John Boye and a strike from Cristiano Ronaldo – either side of Asamoah Gyan’s equaliser – saw Portugal earn a 2-1 win.
It proved too little, too late for the Iberian outfit, however, as they crashed out of Group G in third place, behind the United States on goal difference.
With Jurgen Klinsmann’s men losing 1-0 to group winners Germany in Recife, a four-goal win for Portugal would have seen them advance on goals scored, but the 45-year-old knew the damage had been done in the thrashing at the hands of Joachim Low’s side.
“We haven’t achieved our first goal we had,” he told RTP.
“The way the three games have passed, we got what we deserved. The two teams that qualify have earned it.
“We were too conditioned by the first game. It left a dent on the team.
“We were much better than Ghana and we could have had a better advantage.
“We created enough opportunities to have a result that could have given us a chance of qualification.”
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