Freire says Portugal U21 gave Bulgaria confidence, costing them dearly

At the final whistle in Sofia, the capital, Luís Freire faced the harsh reality of his first defeat as Portugal U21 coach, as Bulgaria turned a late lead into a 2‑1 loss on a chilly evening in a Euro 2027 qualifier.

The defeat marked the first loss since Freire took charge of the Portugal Nacional U21 side, ending an unbeaten run that began with his appointment. He had guided the team through successful fixtures in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where they had each scored two goals.

Portugal held the advantage until the final minutes, only to concede two late goals that saw the match finish 2‑1 to Bulgaria. The result postponed the confirmation of Portugal's qualification for the Euro 2027 tournament.

First half dominance

Freire praised the opening half, describing it as completely dominant with six or seven clear chances. The ball struck the post twice and the Bulgarian goalkeeper made several saves, yet the Portuguese side failed to find the net.

The analysis is simple. We had a first half where we entered very well, completely dominant. We had six, seven goal opportunities, balls hitting the post, the goalkeeper saved some attempts. So we had a very good offensive flow, against a team that had already proved with the Czech Republic that it is not easy to play against them at home. But the truth is we had this ascendancy and we did not score. We missed many chances in the first half, I think it is fair to say we deserved to be clearly winning at the break.

Defensive lapses and missed chances

In the second half, Freire said the team maintained the same energy and created further opportunities, naming Afonso Moreira, Rodrigo Mora and Rafael Nel as players who could have extended the lead. He lamented that failing to convert those chances allowed Bulgaria to equalise and then take the lead, giving them confidence that ultimately cost Portugal dearly.

We did not score, we have scored goals and today we did not, and we ended up conceding where we usually do not concede. From the corner they made it 1‑1 and, of course, they had nothing to lose, they took risks. We also tried to win in the same way, but we became too unbalanced. It must serve as a lesson, especially after being ahead 1‑0, we have to be more effective to make the second goal, give it to the better‑positioned player. Then in the duels, in the defensive part, we must all be together, we cannot lose duels near the area, we gave confidence to Bulgaria and that ended up costing us dearly.

Freire also reflected on the team's overall process, insisting that the volume of created chances is the key indicator of progress, even if the ball failed to find the net. He recalled the side's ability to score two goals in previous fixtures in Scotland and Northern Ireland, underscoring that continued energy and hunger will eventually translate into goals.

I don't know, in Scotland we scored two, in Northern Ireland we scored two.