Santos satisfied as Portugal reach Nations League Finals

Portugal coach Fernando Santos was left satisfied after his team moved into the Nations League Finals following a 0-0 draw with Italy.

A point in Milan on Saturday was enough for the Euro 2016 champions to become the first side to qualify for next year’s Finals, which they are set to host.

While not particularly happy with Portugal’s performance, Santos was glad to secure top spot in Group 3.

“I am satisfied. To be present in the final phase of this competition is always important for Portugal, shows the quality of Portuguese football,” he said.

“It’s fair, in a very difficult game, with much more suffering than I expected.

“The first half was very difficult, we had a lot of difficulty adapting, mainly to the defensive actions.

Noite histórica em San Siro: voltamos a casa com o bilhete para a Final Four!  Obrigado a todos, sem os melhores adeptos não seria possível!  #TudoPorPortugal pic.twitter.com/LCbQP4bozr

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) November 17, 2018

“To defend well isn’t to have many players behind the ball, it is to manoeuvre the opponent and not allow them to play.

“When you don’t do this, you have difficulty playing too. We were poorly positioned defensively and when we won the ball, we couldn’t play.”

Portugal are unbeaten in the group ahead of hosting Poland, who are relegated, on Tuesday.