Portugal coach Paulo Bento has confirmed that he will not resign from his post should Portugal fail to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup. The team were disastrous start to the World Cup 2014 after losing their opening match against Germany 4-0. Since then, it has been downhill for the Portuguese, but they did manage a late equaliser against United States to get at least a point from the match. They go into the final match against Ghana looking to get a victory. However, they will be able to qualify only if other results go their way.
United States take on Germany in the other match and Portugal need a combination of several results coupled with a high-scoring win over the in order to take them into the last 16. As it is almost certain that they will be returning home much earlier than expected, pressure is on Bento to resign. However, he has confirmed that he will remain in the job as long as the Portuguese football Federation want him. Portugal have been one of the disappointing aspects of the World Cup. Much was expected from Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the tournament, but he has failed to score in the opening two matches.
It also has been a major reason behind Portugal’s poor form. “What exactly do you want me to answer? If I’m going to continue with the team? I have repeated many times, the situation is very specific, very peaceful. The federation trust me and the president trusts me, this goes way back. The same with the qualification, [before the crucial matches] against Azerbaijan and Israel. They never failed to trust me and they trust me now,” said Bento.
Portugal went into the play-off match against Sweden in a similar situation, but they won it quite comfortably.