The surroundings of the Hampden Park stands will make it difficult for Portugal to visit Scotland, on Tuesday, in the fourth round of Group A1 of the Nations League, admits Portuguese-Cape Verdean football player Jair Tavares, from Scottish side Motherwell.
“It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere. If there’s one thing that characterizes Scottish football, it’s the atmosphere that exists in any stadium. The fans are crazy about football and live as if it were their lives, especially playing at Hampden Park. It’s It’s a beautiful stadium and I think it will be the national team’s main opponent.
Portugal, winner of the first edition in 2019, faces Scotland on Tuesday, at 7:45 pm, at Hampden Park, in Glasgow, in the fourth of six rounds of Group A1 of the Nations League, potentially ensuring qualification for the quarters of the final if they win and Poland do not beat Croatia at the same time in Warsaw.
“Scotland will try their best to make the game as physical as possible. Despite having improved their level a lot in recent years, they still have that typically tough and aggressive football, which never stops. This has nothing to do with the more leisurely style and of superior quality from Portugal”, he compared, at a time when the team coached by Steve Clarke has one victory in the last 15 matches and has not won at home since June 2023.
In Group A1, which classifies the first two placed for the next phase, the quarter-finals, Portugal is the isolated leader, with nine points, against six from Croatia, three from Poland and none from Scotland, after closing the first round with triumphs in the receptions against the Croatians and Scots (both 2-1) and the visit to the Poles (3-1).
“Right now, Scott McTominay must be Scotland’s best player. He has just joined Napoli from Manchester United, is in incredible form and is different from his teammates. If Portugal can nullify him, he will erase most of the offensive play of the opponent”, he said, alluding to the scorer of the Scottish goal in the meeting in Lisbon, at Estádio da Luz.
With just 72 hours of rest ahead of Saturday’s victory in Poland, the Portuguese coach, the Spanish Roberto Martínez, must make changes to the eleven, having the opportunity to debut defender Tomás Araújo, who worked with Jair Tavares in Benfica’s youth teams. and replaced the injured Gonçalo Inácio at the last minute in the national squad.
“I’ll say it openly: I’m a fan of Tomás Araújo. For me, he’s a central defender with a lot of quality and a difference. There are very few in that position who are as quick and calm with the ball at his feet as he is. I was already waiting for him to reach the level where he is and is well capable of reaching much higher levels”, highlighted the forward, one of the two Portuguese players to play in Scotland’s top flight, alongside midfielder Paulo Bernardo, also trained for the Reds and who represents Celtic.
Jair Tavares confides that the duels between Portugal and Scotland in the Nations League have been a topic of conversation in the dressing room at Motherwell, fourth placed in the Scottish Premiership, which he joined in August on loan from Hibernian, 10th and penultimate.
“I felt that this season will be extremely important and will dictate my future. I had a good run last season, but I needed to get more minutes. Hibernian are a little further ahead in terms of conditions and financially, but Motherwell is a very good club for those wants to evolve. I think it will be a very good season for me.
As he leaves for his third season in Scotland, where he scored two goals in 41 appearances for Hibernian and has already played one game as a substitute for Motherwell, the Portuguese under-19 international admits to having experienced initial difficulties in adapting.
“I’m a totally different player to the one who left Benfica. Even if I had reached the first team or played for another club in Portugal, I wouldn’t have half the intensity I have today. That’s why I think that, despite there being more quality in Portuguese football , the Scotsman is one or two steps ahead”, he concluded.
