Ireland captain: Ronaldo's words before the game did not affect us, we defeated Portugal
6686 Sports reported on November 14 that the Irish team defeated Portugal 2-0 in the World Cup European Qualifying Round. Collins, the captain, believed that this victory increased the team's confidence and made them feel that they could defeat any opponent.
On the win over Portugal
Collins: Today is not about silencing anyone, that’s not it, it’s about us, the team and the fans giving us a chance to qualify for the play-offs after Hungary this Sunday.
We must gain confidence from the victory in this game. The next match against the Hungarian team will be a completely different game. They are a completely different team and we will compete in the away team, but we can create an attacking threat and we know what we have to do. The group situation was very complicated for us before, but now it's very simple.
We defeated the Portuguese team, which shows that we can defeat any opponent. The situation has become very simple, and I think this is a good thing. We just need to win, we don't have to focus on other things, just try to beat the Hungarian team.
About what you said before the game to give Portugal a "terrifying" competition
Collins: The word fear is a bit strange in the football world because you can't play too dirty in the competition. I think you can be afraid of the ball in different ways, forcing the opponent into difficult situations and playing uncomfortable football.
It also creates fear in possession when you are attacking forward and forcing the opponent to chase back the defender.
About Ronaldo saying he was confident of winning before the game
Collins: Did he say that? He wanted to qualify for the World Cup and then maybe go on holiday. It didn't affect us. We knew we had to win games, we knew what we had to do.
I told the referee that O'Shea is not the kind of player who goes down easily and that everyone needs to stay calm during the game because the sidelines, the fans and the players on the field are very excited.
Everyone has to stay calm because the game can go in any direction and I think we stayed calm in the crucial moments and we frustrated Portugal.
