Rodrigo Moreno dedicated praise to Cristiano Ronaldo, leader of Portugal, the team that Spain will face in their debut in the 2018 Russia World Cup, and assured that "he is one of the best in the history of football".
"Portugal has Cristiano as their great reference, one of the best players of today and of football history. And he has shown that he is more than that, especially in the European Cup. They are a solid group, with a lot of unity among them, and more than ever they are showing that football is a collective sport and unity is strength. Portugal is the team to beat in the group," analyzed Rodrigo in a press conference at the Krasnodar Stadium.
Rodrigo will reunite with Gonçalo Guedes in the debut, with whom he has shared a great season at Valencia. "I haven't talked to Gonçalo yet. I wish him all the luck except in the first match against Spain".
For Rodrigo, the Portuguese national team is among the contenders for the title in Russia 2018. "Portugal is the current European champion and we can consider them among the favorites to do something important in the World Cup. They have great players".
And he expects a tactical approach in which they will exploit the counterattack as their main weapon. "It is difficult to know how they will play against us. They are a team that feels comfortable with the counterattack and the mistakes of their opponent. They have very fast players and it is difficult for Spain to take possession of the ball and it complicates us because all teams close up against us".
"We hope that Portugal does not come out to lock themselves up and play their strongest weapon of counterattack because they have the quality to play football and they will try to have the ball and play it. It is very difficult to know their approach. The most important thing is the idea that we have, to overcome and have a good game," he said.
Not losing in a debut is key in a competition of the magnitude of a World Cup, although Rodrigo recalled how the Spanish national team won in 2010. "It is a very important match because of the opponent and being the first match, it is better to start on the right foot, but not definitive. We have the experience of the 2010 World Cup where we became champions and Spain started by losing the first match against a not so strong opponent. We only think about winning, that is the ultimate goal: to win and have a good game," he concluded.