In the European Cup Quarter-Finals that ended in the early hours of Beijing time today, Portugal regrettably failed to beat France in the penalty shootout, and did not qualify for the quarter-finals. After the match, Portugal's midfielder Vitinha Ferreira accepted the media interview, expressing his views on the outcome of the match and his personal feelings.
Speaking about the result, Vitinha Ferreira said, "It's really hard to talk about the game and what could have been different at this point in time. We are very proud of all the Portuguese and this team, we really put our hearts into it, so this result is very painful. We did our best and hoped that the result would have been different, but the reality was harsh. France won on penalties, which is a bit hard to accept. However, we can sleep easy because we did our best. Looking at the course of the game, we actually had a lot of chances to win the game, but in the end, because of one detail, the victory went to France."
When asked what was missing from the goal, Vitinha Ferreira looked a little frustrated: "It's really hard to think about the game right now, to think about what we're missing or what we're doing wrong. It feels very frustrating at the moment and there is a feeling of injustice. We feel like we deserved to win because we gave everything we had in the game, we were very committed, we did everything we could. But that's the way soccer is, sometimes the results are not as good as we would like them to be. All we can say is that's the beauty and cruelty of soccer."
On Portugal's performance at the Euros, Vitinha Ferreira opined, "This game was probably one of our best performances at the Euros, but unfortunately we ended up being eliminated. However, we are proud to have such a great team. We showed the spirit and strength of Portuguese soccer, and although the result was not to our liking, we will learn from this experience and prepare ourselves for future matches."
Finally, when asked if there is any skill in the penalty shootout, Vitinia Ferreira said helplessly, "There is no absolute skill to be found. The penalty shootout is more of a battle of psychology and luck. Unfortunately, this time the victory belongs to the French team. In previous matches we have won on penalties (such as the Slovenia match), but that's life, there are wins and losses. We will accept this result and move forward."
