Santos hails Moutinho impact

Portugal coach Fernando Santos was delighted by
Joao Moutinho's influential cameo role in the Euro
2016 qualifying win over Serbia.

Fernando Santos lauded midfielder Joao Moutinho after he
came off the bench to score the winner in Portugal's 2-1
triumph over Serbia.

With the Iberian side already of assured of their place at Euro
2016 following a 1-0 win over Denmark on October 8, the
Monaco midfielder was not risked from the start in Belgrade.

Moutinho was introduced in the 70th minute with the game
level and curled in a delightful goal to secure a historic seventh
consecutive win in European Championships qualifying for
Portugal, drawing praise from the coach.

"In the phase when Serbia had us under a lot of pressure,
Moutinho came on and brought great perception to the team,"
Santos said.

"He was not in shape to start the game. He told me he could
play 20 to 25 minutes and he came on at the right time."

The victory came a day after Santos' 61st birthday and he
described the result from a tough fixture as the perfect present.

"It's always important to finish first and be seeded in the draw
for Euro 2016. It was a gift I wanted for my birthday," he added.

"It was a very difficult game. We started the game well, with the
team pressing high, quickly stealing possession and creating
chances. One of these moments led to the [opening] goal."

Despite losing their opening fixture to Albania when Paulo Bento
was at the helm, Nani - who scored the opening goal of the night
with his first international strike since June 2014 - was delighted
with the way in which Portugal booked their place in France.

"It's always nice to score for our team. Once again we are all to
be congratulated. We achieved another goal: we wanted to
finish with seven consecutive victories," the Fenerbahce winger
said.

"The team is evolving with every day. It was hard playing away
from home. Serbia showed a lot of quality in their play, but what
counts is the result.

"We always enter our games very positively. The first result was
not good, we gave a good response and we made history by
getting qualification in this way."