"I hope we cross paths, it will be a good sign" - Portugal star Joao Cancelo says he wants to face 'very strong' team at EURO 2024

Portugal star Joao Cancelo has claimed that he wants his side to take on Spain in the knockout stages of EURO 2024. The full-back called Luis de la Fuente's squad 'very strong' and said that he liked their style of play.

Cancelo spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Barcelona, returning to Spanish football after his spell with Valencia a few years ago (2014-18). He played with La Roja's Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres at Barca.

Spain started the group stage off on a high, hammering Luka Modric's Croatia 3-0 (June 15). They followed it up with an equally good 1-0 win over defending champions Italy (June 20), although the scoreline would have looked better if it wasn't for opposition goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

They made 10 changes to their starting lineup for the last game, giving their entire reserve squad a chance after having secured their qualification into the knockouts. Even their second team managed to defeat Albania 1-0 in the final game of their group, ensuring that they go into the knockouts on a high.

With five goals scored and none conceded, Spain are considered by many as favourites to lift the EURO 2024 title. These sentiments were echoed by Cancelo, who said (via Mundo Deportivo and GSFN):

"Spain's squad are very strong, they play great football. The culture of Spain is always like this. They have excellent individual players and a culture of playing very well. I hope we cross paths, it will be a good sign. But we will see what happens."

"I think we played a good game" - Portugal's Joao Cancelo after their 3-0 win over Turkiye at EURO 2024

Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo was satisfied with his side's performance in their 3-0 victory over Turkiye at EURO 2024 (June 22). He said the team looked more composed than they did in their 2-1 win over Czechia in the opening encounter (June 19).

Bernardo Silva (21') opened the scoring for Portugal, sweeping a deflected cross from Rafael Leao into the net. Following that, Cancelo misplaced a pass meant for superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo, but a horrible mix-up in the Turkish backline led to an own-goal from Samet Akaydin (28').

Ronaldo then unselfishly squared the ball to Bruno Fernandes (56') to round out a comprehensive win for the EURO 2016 champions. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo about the game, the 30-year-old said:

"I expected a difficult match, they were individually better opponents than the Czech Republic. But I think we played a good game, that we were much better than in our first match, due to the nerves we had during it."

With their qualification into the knockouts already secured, Portugal take on Georgia in their last group stage encounter on June 26 at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen.