Portugal captain Bruno Fernandes praised Wales after their narrow win, admitting Craig Bellamy’s side showed they have plenty of quality
Man Utd captain and Portugal star Bruno Fernandes(Image: BBC)
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes said he was "not impressed" by Wales' performance because Portugal knew what they were capable of after the Dragons pushed the European giants all the way in Lisbon.
Portugal edged to a 1-0 victory at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in the opening game of Wales' Nations League campaign, with Joao Felix's deflected first-half strike proving enough to settle a hard-fought contest.
Craig Bellamy's side had their moments, particularly after the break, and came within inches of an equaliser when Brennan Johnson's effort clipped the crossbar before Portugal cleared the resulting scramble off the line.
Fernandes, who captained Portugal after Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted, insisted Wales' performance had not come as a surprise to the hosts.
"No, we were not impressed," he said to the BBC post-match when asked whether Wales had surprised Portugal with their performance.
"We knew they were good. We know that they have a lot of good players.
"I've played against many of them. If they play in the Premier League they need to have quality. They need to have a certain high level.
"So I think we knew they could cause us problems. But we created a lot of chances and we could have scored more goals.
"Unfortunately today it was not the case but we scored one and didn't concede and that's amazing."
Wales' performance was made all the more impressive by the absences Bellamy had to contend with, with Harry Wilson, Joe Rodon, Nathan Broadhead, Dylan Lawlor and starting goalkeeper Karl Darlow among those unavailable.
The result means Wales begin their return to Nations League A with a defeat, but they showed enough to suggest Portugal will face another difficult assignment when the sides meet again later in the campaign.
The reverse fixture takes place on November 17, when Portugal will travel to Wales and face a very different atmosphere.
Fernandes is expecting the hosts to feel the full force of their home support.
"Yes, probably even more pressure, playing with your fans against us," he said.
"We know the atmosphere you can create there.
"We expect a lot of pressure and moments where fans will push the team to go forward and we need to be aware of that."
Wales' next fixture sees them take on Denmark on Sunday, while Portugal will take on Norway in the other match in Nations League A Group 4.