Portugal heading in the right direction, insists Bento

Portugal coach Paulo Bento felt his side deserved their 3-2 victory over Denmark in Lviv, insisting it would have been “unjust” had his side been held to a draw.

Substitute Silvestre Varela snatched a winner three minutes from time and Bento felt that did justice to their performance.

“The team were focused throughout and showed real quality,” said the Portuguese.

“We created chances, especially in the first half, and I think 2-0 would have been a just result at half-time.

“In the second period we didn’t sit back on our lead, we looked for a third.

“The equaliser was unjust but we didn’t bow our heads, we showed character and got the winner we deserved.”

The win was vital in keeping alive their hopes of qualifying from Group B, having lost their opener against Germany, and Bento feels they are maintaining their progress.

“We’ve had two good games now against two great opponents. We’ve had obstacles but we’re continuing on our path — the right path.

Denmark coach Morten Olsen admitted conceding a late winner was devastating for morale but was not unhappy with the performance.

“It’s a horrible feeling to concede so close to the end and end up losing the game,” he said.

“We struggled to find our rhythm but we really improved in the second half and in the last 10 minutes we came into our own.

“I was proud of the way we played against the Netherlands [winning 1-0] but in a sense I’m prouder here of our second-half performance.

“We couldn’t get our reward in the end but that is the rule of the game and everyone experiences it once in their careers — but hopefully not much more than that. We merited a point. I think with a bit of luck we could have got a draw.”