Armenia coach: Ronaldo is absent but Portugal is still a strong opponent. The first round made me very angry

6686 Sports News, November 16th, Beijing time tonight at 22:00, Armenia will challenge Portugal in the away team field of the World Cup preliminaries. Coach Melliken attended the pre-match press conference.

You don’t have any pressure for tomorrow’s competition. What goals have you set for this competition?

You say there is no pressure, but the other players and I have a huge responsibility - we represent Armenia. With greater responsibility comes greater pressure. Portugal is a strong opponent, and this game will be a valuable experience for our young team, allowing our players to learn how to deal with it and understand where they can improve themselves.

This will be a fun contest for me. I want to see how the team has changed since the last game against Portugal (my first game) and we will have a chance to test the progress in these three months. We understand that Portugal desperately needs three points, but we also want to win, so we will go all out.

Has Ronaldo's suspension for the card made your job easier?

The match between Portugal and Ireland proved that anything is possible on the football field. But the reality is that the gap between Armenia and Portugal is too great. As for Ronaldo, Portugal has such strong strength that even if someone takes his place, it will definitely be a top player. We must be prepared for a tough competition.

In the first round, Armenia played too respectfully against Portugal, and the players did not dare to take the initiative to fight. How did you solve this problem?

Yes, we discussed this. I can't say exactly what I did, but I was very angry. I have great respect for Portugal, but when you step on the field, you have to forget about the intimidation of your opponent and go all out to win. The defeat in the first game was due to this reason. I don't want to see that happen again - what I want to see is a race to win.

In general, the team atmosphere has improved a lot during this period. The players' fighting spirit has become stronger, and their discipline and dedication to the country and the national team have also improved.