After leading Portugal to a 4-2 away victory over Denmark in the UEFA Nations League group stage, national team coach Jorge Jesus held a press conference. This is the first part of that press conference.

Congratulations on the victory. Out of full respect for your work and coaching, I'd like to ask: what exactly did Cristiano Ronaldo say to you before leaving the national team? If he wants to return to the national team in the future, would you accept him back?

This was a victory of extremely high value and outstanding quality. Today, the Portugal national team displayed a very high competitive level on the pitch, scoring four goals. In my opinion, the team played to a very high standard. Obviously, this matters more than anything else that happened before. So this is where I want to focus all my attention – on this match itself and on the next match at the Estádio do Dragão (home against Norway). Returning to Portugal, returning to our people, I believe the fans will definitely fill the Estádio do Dragão. For me, that is the most important thing right now.

Mr. Jorge Jesus, you just mentioned that the core objective has been achieved – to win the match. After seeing this united team that plays beautiful football and wins consistently, do you regret your previous statement that "some players in the team have a special status more important than everyone else"? Do you have any regrets?

No, not at all. Zero regret. I still hold exactly the same view. Yes, there are indeed players with special status and prestige in the team, and for me, this is as clear as water – extremely objective and explicit. But I must emphasize again: even so, team rules and discipline apply equally to everyone. This is an ongoing process. Throughout my long coaching career, I have always thought this way, and I will continue to adhere to this philosophy in the future.

Coach, let's talk about the match itself. Portugal was equalized twice by the opponent, but the entire team never lost composure or calmness. For you, does this signify a mature team with true ability to control the pace of the game – one that doesn't panic after conceding but instead pushes forward resolutely to score?

This is largely due to the players' incredibly rich experience. They all play for top clubs in the world and have faced many similar situations in their careers – for example, being equalized after taking the lead. What's crucial is that they have firm belief in everything they do on the pitch.

And at this moment, the most important thing is that the entire team, at the collective level, completely trusts and implements our tactical system. In my opinion, among the last three matches, today's performance was the best. This is actually normal because with accumulated training sessions, the team has demonstrated tactical details in certain phases that we hadn't fully trained in previous matches.

I have recently intensified training for positional attacks. Today, everyone could clearly see in the match that Gonçalo Ramos's goal was an exquisite example of positional play. Although Cancelo's goal came more from a quick counter-attack and was more direct, the overall tactical approach completely aligned with what we emphasized during positional play drills and refinements over the past two days.

Of course, football matches are not won solely by attacking or having excellent positional play. As everyone knows, football involves five phases of play, and a deep understanding and control of these five phases are crucial. Facing opponents who are much stronger than us physically, we still maintained a good response in defending set pieces, and our defensive performance was extremely strong, which naturally brought the team closer to victory.

In short, we scored some very high-quality goals. I think this is a victory that makes the players increasingly believe in what we are doing – I won't particularly emphasize how important it is, because every victory is equally important – but this victory has indeed made the entire team more convinced of our work and direction.

Good evening, Jorge. Whether we like to admit it or not, this seems to mark the beginning of a new era for the national team, or at least shows signs of one. The players' response on the pitch today – Bruno Fernandes as captain, Gonçalo Ramos's goal, and the attacking football you rightly praised – is this also a signal from the entire team to the outside world that the team is in good shape and very promising?

No, this is not a deliberate political signal or an external declaration. If there must be a signal, it is a "high quality" signal. This is exactly what I want the team to demonstrate – to display high-quality football and a thorough understanding of every detail on the pitch.

We are a team that dares to take defensive risks. As you can see, we press high in the opponent's half, and even our center-backs push directly near the opponent's penalty area to press our designated key targets. Therefore, this is a team that fully accepts risk and highly trusts our tactical approach, and for me, that is the most important thing. Moreover, the players love this style of play. They love this high-risk, high-reward philosophy, because they themselves are extremely capable top players.

Good evening, Coach. Today, when the team left the hotel, when the bus arrived at the stadium, and when you left the pitch after the sideline interview following the match, there seemed to be some boos. However, at the end of the match, I noticed you specifically stood with the players and actively called them to go to the stands to thank the fans and receive their applause. In today's context, is it also very important for you to feel the support of the national team fans?

Boos? I didn't see them, and I didn't hear any boos from the Portuguese fans. I didn't hear or see anything like that. I was very close to the Portuguese fans' stand, and I didn't hear anything of the sort. However, having said that, whether after winning or not, the most important thing is to respect the fans who travel long distances – many of them drive or take transportation for hundreds or thousands of kilometers to be closely connected with the national team.

Throughout my past six years of coaching, I have also been an expatriate – a coach who left his homeland to work abroad. Therefore, I deeply understand that when you live and work abroad, your patriotism and feelings of national pride become even stronger. Undoubtedly, this is not to say they are "more Portuguese" than those living in the homeland, but it encompasses deeper emotions. So I am very clear that these overseas fans have a strong sense of identity and belonging to our flag, our people, and our country, because everyone understands the precious value of this support.

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