Footballer Rafael Rodrigues said this Tuesday, the 19th, that the Portuguese under-21 team should not give ease to the Faroe Islands, in the first of two games in the Algarve, so as not to take risks in qualifying for the 2025 European Championship.
“It’s going to be two great games. The Croatia game will be a little more complicated, but we cannot think that the game against the Faroe Islands will be easy, because otherwise we run the risk of making things more difficult”, said the Benfica left-back, at a press conference. .
The player was speaking in Lagos, where the Portuguese under-21s are preparing for games against the Faroe Islands, on Thursday, and Croatia, on March 26, both at the São Luís Stadium, in Faro, for Group G to qualify for the 2025 European Championship.
The 22-year-old defender, a regular starter in the Reds’ B team, promised a “great show” against the islanders and said he hoped that “as many fans as possible would show up” at the Algarve venue, in a meeting scheduled for 5:30 pm.
Rafael Rodrigues, who has six caps for the under-21s, said that the four new ‘faces’ called up by Rui Jorge are being “quite well” received, which is already “a habit” in the group.
“Whenever someone new comes in, we try to welcome them in the best possible way, so that integration is easier and it’s going well”, he said, about goalkeeper Diogo Pinto, from Sporting, midfielders Gustavo Sá, from Famalicão, and Martim Neto, from Gil Vicente, and striker Youssef Chermiti, from English club Everton.
Conversely, the defender also discussed Francisco Conceição (FC Porto) being called up to the main team, something that could happen to other players currently in the under-21s in the future, he highlighted.
“Now Francisco has arrived, in the next call it could be another one. It is a great opportunity for Francisco, above all, and for us, as colleagues, because we helped him achieve this goal”, he highlighted.
Rafael Rodrigues promised to “work hard to achieve all the group’s goals”, namely qualifying for the 2025 European Championship, where he also wants to be.
“That’s what we work for, at these stages and at the club. We try to make the best use of each stage so that the Euro call-up is possible,” he concluded.
Portugal leads Group G, with 12 points from five games, followed by Greece, with 11 (one more game), Croatia, with 10 (one game less), Faroe Islands, with seven, and Andorra and Belarus, both with three points in six and eight games, respectively.
