“Best team won” - Jose Mourinho lauds Spain for Euro 2024 win, reserves special praise for 3 key players
Jose Mourinho has praised Spain for winning Euro 2024 in Germany and took time out to hail three players in particular. Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, and Alvaro Morata, who all played under the Portuguese coach during his time with Real Madrid, received praise for their impressive performances at the competition.
Mourinho gave all three some of their first minutes in the game and they went on to become stables of the Los Blancos and La Roja teams.
Taking to Instagram after Spain lifted the Euro 2024 trophy, Jose Mourinho wrote:
"2024/Champions League winner captain Nacho Fernandez/European Champion winner captain Alvaro Morata. Many congratulations to them and to the coach who gave them their debut when they were just kids in the Academy 😂😂😂. Same coach who did not understand that Dani Carvajal was another one 😡🤬😀.
"Many congratulations to Mister De La Fuente for an amazing job. Best team won!"
La Roja claimed their fourth European championship title yesterday after beating England in the final in Berlin. Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Nico Williams were enough to secure a 2-1 win over the Three Lions.
Their triumph in Euro 2024 joins their previous wins in 1964, 2008 and 2012. This sees La Roja become the most successful team in the competition's history with four wins.
Jose Mourinho believes Euro 2024 strugglers can shine in 2026 World Cup
Iconic Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho believes his country will improve on their Euro 2024 performance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Selecao had a disappointing tournament, as they crashed out of the European Championships in the quarterfinals after failing to score in three consecutive games.
Speaking about Portugal's performances, the former Porto and Real Madrid boss said (Via Goal):
“There is always frustration when you feel that you could do better. The team’s potential was extremely high. I wasn’t far off the mark when I said that Portugal, France and England were the favourites. Two of them are in the semi-finals. Spain is the biggest surprise for me, in the way the team has evolved, they are practically a new team. For me, at the moment, they are the team that plays the best and the one that has played the best throughout the tournament."
Jose Mourinho concluded, saying:
" Portugal wasn’t fantastic, despite reaching the quarter-finals. We expected more. I was at the National Stadium for the Portugal-Croatia [friendly] match and it didn’t smell good. I didn’t get a great feeling. During the tournament we were the team that was making progress, but we weren’t convincing. Often, when the moment of truth comes, these teams are stronger.
"This wasn’t the end of Portugal, there wasn’t any improvement in the team. But it’s a young team, apart from the two veterans [Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe], a team with years ahead of them. The World Cup is just around the corner.”
Portugal will hope to better their third-place finish in 1966, their best performance in the competition, following their disappointing quarterfinal exit to Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.