Portugal gaffer Roberto Martinez praised the “incredible belief” of Georgia while also throwing light to the possible causes of their Euro 2024 Group F, 2-0 loss on Wednesday.
With a round of 16 ticket in the bag for Portugal, Martinez started the contest with just three of the players in the starting lineup from the victory over Turkey.
However, if Martinez had aimed for players to show more ahead of competing for places for the knockout clash against Slovenia – he was left with doubts as his charges were outplayed.
“It’s a defeat. We started with low intensity, we conceded early and that’s what Georgia needed,” Martinez said to pressmen.
“We weren’t clear-headed enough with the last pass and in front of goal, and their goalkeeper had an amazing performance.
“We tried to score but couldn’t and that made Georgia believe all the more. They deserved to win.
“Today was the day to give other players an opportunity, players that we needed to see how they were doing, players with their own worth. Today I didn’t want to put on Ruben Dias, Bernardo (Silva) or Bruno Fernandes.”
Multiple of thousands of gingered Georgia supporters cheered their 74th-ranked nation to victory over the 2016 champions on what proved a frustrating night for Ronaldo and his teammates.
The 39-year-old failed to score in the group stage of a major international tournament for the first time in his career, having recorded in the previous 10 he had appeared in, previously back to Euro 2004.
Although the shock defeat was a huge disappointment, Martinez said it would serve as a wake-up call.
“We didn’t underestimate Georgia, but Georgia were playing the game of their history,” he added.
“And we were playing the last game when we were already top of the group.
“It was difficult for us to match the same intensity. Losing today will prepare our team better from a mental standpoint.
“I changed seven or eight players from the last game and I wanted all the players to be as well prepared as possible for the knockout stages.”
Martinez also lavished praise on Georgia for their performance, saying:
“They showed an incredible belief.
“I’m sure that scoring early helps, but probably the biggest surprise was that they were able to maintain the level of belief and intensity for 90 minutes.
“I think the coach has done an incredible job and they deserve the credit today.”
