"Mbappe and Ronaldo can make the difference at any time"

Portugal and Paris Saint-Germain full-back Nuno Mendes has played alongside Kylian Mbappe for the past three years, but will now have him as an opponent in the Euro 2024 quarter-final against France and remarked that they are "prepared" against him, while warning of his talent and ability "to make a difference in a moment", like that of Cristiano Ronaldo.

"They are two players of the highest level, two stars, who can make the difference at any moment. It was a pleasure to play with Mbappe and I have the pleasure of playing with Cristiano Ronaldo. They are two players who make a difference. We are ready. We're going to prepare everything we can to achieve the objective. Then we have to be able to put them into practice in the best way on the pitch," he explained.

"I don't think Mbappe will play on my side. We both play on the left, but if that happens, I'm ready. I've trained every day for these moments. We are all ready. France have great players and so do we," he continued at a press conference ahead of the Portuguese side's afternoon training session.

Cristiano Ronaldo has yet to score at Euro 2024. Last Monday, in tears, he lamented his penalty miss in extra-time. "Normally he's the one who tucks us all in and this time it was the other way around. We all went to support him. It was a difficult moment for him and for everyone. We are all here to help, he was in a bad moment and we went to help him," he concluded.

 

July 3, 2024