Paulo Bento has praised Portugal's character after they recovered from conceding a two-goal advantage to snatch a late winner against Portugal.
Manager's delight at response to Denmark comeback
Portugal manager Paulo Bento has praised his side's character and resilience after they recovered from conceding a two-goal advantage to snatch a late winner against Denmark.
Substitute Silvestre Varela was the man who secured a dramatic win for Bento's men, volleying home Fabio Coentrao's cross at the second attempt with three minutes remaining.
Portugal had earlier stormed into a 2-0 lead though goals from Pepe and Helder Postiga, before Nicklas Bendtner's brace dragged Denmark level and left Portugal's qualification hopes handing by a thread.
The win instead means they now join Denmark on three points in an increasingly tight Group B.
"Conceding an equaliser so late, we showed great strength of character to keep going after the win," said Bento.
"We should have killed the game off earlier, we had enough chances," added the 42-year-old, referring to two gilt-edged chances missed by Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo's Real team-mate Pepe had more luck in front of goal, opening the scoring with a flashing near-post header from Joao Moutinho's corner after 25 minutes.
However, the 29-year-old was quick to focus on the team rather than his individual exploits.
"I had the luck to score against Turkey at the last Euros," he said.
"I was able to help once again my team, but the most important thing is the team. We showed a real willingness to sacrifice ourselves in order to win this match."
