14 hours ago
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Portugal prima Ruben Dias spoke connected his side's FIFA World Cup aspirations, saying that the squad is "humble but much ambitious than ever".
After a treble of the FA Cup and EFL Cup this play with Manchester City, Ruben volition beryllium representing Portugal successful his 3rd FIFA World Cup.
The centre-back has been a captious portion of Man City's trophy-winning machinery since 2020, and has brought this mentality to his nationalist broadside by playing a important relation successful clinching the UEFA Nations League rubric past year.
The 29-year-old has eyes acceptable connected the astir prestigious prize successful each of shot and claimed that helium feels truly bully physically and mentally.
"It is going to beryllium my 3rd World Cup, and it is ever an breathtaking infinitesimal for the country, for each of us," said Ruben arsenic quoted by FIFA's authoritative website.
"I cognize the vibe erstwhile you're successful a World Cup. I cognize however peculiar it is for the players, for the fans, for our families, for our country. It is conscionable a joyousness and a unsocial experience. I consciousness similar this 1 is going to beryllium a peculiar one. For a agelong time, everyone has been waiting for it to happen," helium added.
Just a twelvemonth aft the Nations League triumph, a trophy they secured with back-to-back wins implicit Germany and Spain, a consciousness of optimism is astatine an all-time precocious wrong the camp.
"I consciousness similar successful each contention we person gone through, we person been progressing," said Ruben. "We person galore prime players. Also, we person a batch of players playing astatine the champion level of shot - that comes with dealing with the pressure, knowing what that unit feels like," helium added.
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Portugal manager Roberto Martinez has described Dias arsenic a subordinate who is simply a "coach connected the field", owed to his organisational qualities and tactical brilliance. He feels that it would beryllium joyous to spell into the tourney arsenic 1 of the team's astir experienced stars and stock his champion cognition to assistance the squad win.
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Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo volition beryllium playing his sixth World Cup, eyeing a rubric helium has ne'er won.
"Most certainly, I person learned from him and galore others, similar Pepe, erstwhile helium was with the nationalist team. You are ever learning, particularly erstwhile it comes to idiosyncratic similar him [Ronaldo]. The acquisition of shot and beingness helium has had means helium is decidedly idiosyncratic to look up to. You effort to portion each small driblet of cognition you can," helium said.
