In the quarterfinals of the European Cup on July 6, Portugal defeated France in the penalty shootout, regretting to stop outside the quarterfinals. After the match, Portugal's defense center Ruben Dias accepted the media's interview, reflected deeply on the game, and expressed expectations for the team's future.
Ruben Diaz was blunt about his team's elimination, saying, "It's really hard to go out like this. Since I joined the national team, this game was our best performance in terms of chance creation. We took almost every possible chance, but unfortunately, luck was not on our side in the penalty shootout. However, I also see more and more young talent coming out of the national team, which is where our hope lies. We must keep this in mind as we will face many more challenges and opportunities in the future."
Speaking about the team's seeming lack of efficiency in the game, Ruben Diaz said, "It's true that we had a lot of clear chances in today's game, but that's the way soccer is, sometimes even if you do well, you can lose the victory because of a small mistake. We made some mistakes but we also did a lot of the right things. Our players all have a great ability to score goals and the team did a good job of creating chances. But as I always say, it's all in the details. The French team today had two omissions and a penalty, but their overall performance was also very good and they are a very strong team. We had a very close match with them and although the result was not as good as we would have liked, we learned a lot from it."
Speaking about veteran Pepe, Ruben Diaz was full of respect: "Pepe is one of the souls of the team, his experience and leadership are crucial to the team. Regarding his future plans, I think he will tell everyone at the right time. For me, it's an honor to play alongside a legend like Pepe. His presence made us more confident and powerful on the field. I'm sure he will continue to contribute to Portuguese soccer for years to come."
