João Felix: Qualifications are always complicated, we met with Martinez

Portugal international Joao Felix has said his side must be cautious in their upcoming matches against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg at the start of the 2024 European Championship qualifiers.

"We always have to be ready and not enter the game lightly. We have an example from the recent World Cup, when everyone thought we would get past Morocco, but we didn't. It's always complicated, every team always gives their best and everyone plays their own games it's like a final. All the games will be difficult, at home and away. We have to be careful," said Felix.

The players of Portugal play on Thursday from 20.45:XNUMX in Lisbon against Liechtenstein in the first round of Group J in the qualifiers for the European Championship in Germany, and three days later they visit Luxembourg.

The team will be led by new coach Roberto Martinez, who replaced Fernando Santos on the bench. Santosh resigned after being eliminated from the World Cup, in the quarter-finals against Morocco. He left the team two years before the contract expired, and with the national team he won the European Championship in 2016 and the League of Nations three years later.

"We met briefly in training. He explained to us some of his ideas, mainly for the upcoming two games, which will be very similar. He talked about the dynamics of the attack and the connections between the wings and the forwards," said Felix.

Among the invited players is Cristiano Ronaldo, who will play in Portugal for the first time since he moved to Saudi Al Nasr. Ronaldo started the knockout phase of the World Cup from the bench and it is uncertain whether he will have a place in the first team with Martinez.

Martines left the Belgian national team after six years after a disappointing elimination in the group stage of the World Cup.

He made a few changes to the team, among others he called up stars Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota and Pepe.

Slovakia, Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina are also in Group J. The first two teams from the 10 qualifying groups will advance directly to the 2024 European Championship in Germany.