Slovenia fans flocked to watch Cristiano Ronaldo in a friendly earlier this year, said midfielder Adam Gnezda Cerin on Sunday, but they are now fully behind the national team as they face Portugal in the Euro 2024 last 16.
The small central European country, appearing in their second Euros, reached the knock-out rounds of a major competition for the first time after holding England to a goalless draw.
Slovenia face one of the tournament favourites Portugal in Frankfurt on Monday, looking to continue making history.
They inflicted Roberto Martinez’s first defeat as Portugal coach with a 2-0 friendly win in March.
“The Slovene public mostly wanted to see Ronaldo, that’s why they flocked to the match in Ljubljana — that’s something that spurred us on,” Gnezda Cerin told reporters Sunday.
“We surprised them, we beat Portugal and we carried that momentum into this tournament, and now the fans are here in great numbers supporting us.
“I hope we can stay in Germany for a few more days as it’s very nice to play matches in front of these great fans.”
The Panathinaikos midfielder, 24, said his team can shock Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and other star names.
“There are no small teams any more, it’s a very tight competition and everyone can play football,” he added.
“The so-called lesser lights are playing well with amazing motivation, our results show this, everyone can beat everyone in such a tournament and this is what makes football the beautiful game.”
Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek said Portugal’s vast reserves of talent was a problem for him.
“When you look at their squad list you get a headache, they can rotate, change however much they want,” said Kek.
“But our approach does not change because of that. I see Portugal as one of the favourites to win the tournament, but Slovenia has not been the favourite in all three group matches, and we’re not the favourites tomorrow.”
Kek said his team should “revel” in the euphoria around them back home after making history and that they were not scared of Portugal.
“We’re not afraid of them, we’re really glad to be able to play against such teams,” he added.
“It will be a tough match, but we’re really happy to be able to play it.”
