Fernando Santos acknowledged there is still plenty of work for Portugal to do to finish above Spain in their Nations League group but is content with the fact his side are sitting pretty atop the pool.
Portugal, who won the inaugural tournament in 2019, moved two points clear at the top of Group A2 with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Lisbon on Thursday.
Spain leapfrogged the Czech Republic into second place courtesy of a 1-0 victory over bottom-placed and pointless Switzerland, coming on the back of successive draws.
The two heavyweights drew 1-1 last week and are due to meet again in the final round of fixtures, but Portugal must first travel to Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
And with only half of the campaign played, Santos is not taking anything for granted at this stage.
"We are first, which is always good," he told Portuguese television station RTP3. "But the other teams in our group also want to win. There are still three games to go.
"Spain also won today and we are now two points ahead. Naturally the group is still open. It will also be resolved in the final games in September, not now."
Portugal were good value for their victory at Estadio Jose Alvalade, where first-half goals from Joao Cancelo and Goncalo Guedes proved enough.
The Selecao had five shots on target to the visitors' one and ended with an expected goals (xG) value of 1.34 to 0.71.
While the margin of victory could have been even greater, Guedes was pleased with Portugal's ninth win in their past 11 matches since exiting Euro 2020 at the last-16 stage.
"We played a great game, especially in the first half," he said. "We tried to take advantage of the spaces and circulate the ball, which we managed to do.
"In the second half we tired more, but they're a good team and tried to cancel us out. We wanted more goals but couldn't find them.
"This was still an important victory and a great game on our part. We want to finish first and advance as far as possible in the competition, which we can do with victories."
Bernardo Silva set up both of Portugal's goals and now has three assists this Nations League campaign, which is more than any other player.
He created four big chances in total, while only Cancelo (three) completed more dribbles than Silva's two, despite being taken off 22 minutes from time.
Explaining that substitution, and his selection plans against Switzerland on Sunday, Santos told Sport TV: "Players start to feel tired – that's natural.
"He was very influential for us again today. But he used up his batteries early, and when that happens he could no fulfil his other roles.
"As for the team against Switzerland, you'll have to see."
Lee Carsley insists Harry Maguire's England omission not due to form
Lee Carsley insists Harry Maguire's omission from his latest England squad is not due to form and he still has an important role to play for his country.
Manchester United centre-back Maguire missed Euro 2024 for beaten finalists England due to injury but was involved for interim boss Carlsey's first squad since Gareth Southgate departed for the Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month.
However, there was no place for the 31-year-old ahead of this month's Nations League double-header against Greece and the return clash with the Finnish.
Maguire was the fifth-most utilised player for England under Southgate, with only Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Jordan Pickford and John Stones appearing more, and Carsley explained that the decision was just to take a look at other options.
"It was a chance of having a look at other players. It's nothing to do with form. It's looking at the next two camps to look at other players," Carsley said.
"The players left out all have a case but we saw the benefit in the last camp of the squad being fresh, feeling fresh and a lot of energy in it.
"It's not just a copy and a paste, I want them to feel like they all have earned their place in the squad. People want to know where they stand long-term, I've told all the players this is a short-term situation.
"Harry is a player I've worked with in the past. He was very positive in the conversation we have.
"It was a case of talking to him about what my decision was, we have some really good centre-backs who we are keen to see play. Harry still has a really important part to play, not just in this squad but also in the campaign."
Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham: Johnson the difference as Postecoglou's side stay perfect
Brennan Johnson's red-hot form in front of goal continued as he helped Tottenham to a 2-1 win over Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday.
Pape Sarr had given the visitors the lead in the first half before Johnson got the second with four minutes remaining prior to Barnabus Varga giving the hosts a late consolation.
A young Spurs side started slowly and were given a wake-up call 12 minutes in as Varga's header across goal nestled into the far bottom corner, but his goal was ruled out due to a tight offside.
Sarr put Spurs ahead just 11 minutes later, getting a little bit of fortune as the ball ricocheted through the box before he slotted past Denes Dibusz.
Pedro Porro then cut inside to drive a low shot against the foot of the right post before the break, while Matheus Saldanha forced Guglielmo Vicario into a fingertip save shortly after half-time.
Johnson came off the bench and hit the bar before keeping his composure to double Spurs' lead, sending his strike in off the inside of the post.
Varga did get his name on the scoresheet in stoppage time, stretching out a leg to lift Cristian Ramirez's whipped cross over Vicario.
Data Debrief: Johnson proves the difference
He may not have started the game, but it is Johnson's involvement that sealed all three points for Spurs, and a second consecutive Europa League win.
The forward has scored in each of his last five appearances for the club in all competitions, matching his goal tally for the entirety of last season (five goals).
Ange Postecoglou was not afraid to ring in the changes, and Tottenham became the first English side to start four-plus teenagers in a single match in a major European competition since Manchester United versus Astana in the Europa League in November 2019 (six).
Lopetegui ready to ease pressure as he targets first home win
Julen Lopetegui says he expects to be under pressure after West Ham's recent struggles at home but hopes to put that right against Ipswich Town.
West Ham have won just one of their six Premier League matches so far, away to Crystal Palace, but have lost all three of their home fixtures, conceding eight goals and scoring twice.
Having failed to win any of their last four in the league, along with a heavy 5-1 defeat to Liverpool in the EFL Cup before last week's draw at Brentford, Lopetegui is coming under a little pressure already.
However, the Spaniard is not fazed by that, explaining his team are working hard to change their fortunes at the London Stadium.
"Always it's very important to win, and that's why we work hard every day. We want to win for sure," Lopetegui said.
"Ipswich are a good team, and all our thoughts are on Saturday.
"Our job is to live under pressure, and it is normal because we haven't won at home yet. That's why we are working, to try and win on Saturday against Ipswich."
Meanwhile, the Tractor Boys are still searching for their first win since being promoted back to the top-flight.
There is reason to be optimistic though, as Ipswich have drawn each of their last four outings, including 2-2 against Aston Villa last weekend.
Kieran McKenna is expecting another tough test but knows his players will show their competitiveness once again.
"I know it is another big game, another big challenge and one to look forward to," McKenna said.
"Let's hope we can make it really competitive. I don't think there [will be] many weeks this year where we are going to blow teams out of the water, so we need to work really, really hard to be competitive.
"We hope we can be really clinical in our execution when we have our moments and defend their moments well to give ourselves a chance to get a result."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
West Ham – Tomas Soucek
Tomas Soucek netted his 29th Premier League goal for West Ham United in their 1-1 draw with Brentford, overtaking Milan Baros (28) into second place for the top Czechia scorers in Premier League history.
He is now only behind Patrik Berger (38 goals), a record he will be keen to start chasing down.
Ipswich Town – Sam Morsy
No player has more Premier League yellow cards this season than Ipswich midfielder Sam Morsy (four) and was perhaps lucky not to receive a second against Aston Villa last weekend.
Since his Ipswich league debut in September 2021, only one player has more yellow cards in the league in England's top four tiers than Morsy's total of 40, but given his importance to McKenna's side, the manager will be hoping he can avoid another.
MATCH PREDICTION: WEST HAM WIN
West Ham have lost just one of their eight Premier League meetings with Ipswich (W3 D4), a 1-0 home loss in March 2001. Their last such meeting was a 3-1 victory for the Hammers in March 2002.
However, Ipswich won their last two league meetings with West Ham, beating them 1-0 away and 5-1 at home in the 2011-12 Championship campaign.
West Ham have lost their three home Premier League games this season, the first time they have started a season with three home defeats. The Hammers have not suffered four defeats in a row in the top-flight at the London Stadium since the final four home matches of Manuel Pellegrini's reign in November-December 2019.
Indeed, West Ham have won just five points in their opening six Premier League matches this season (W1 D2 L3), the fifth time in the last nine seasons they have had five or fewer points at this stage of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Ipswich are winless in all six Premier League games this season (D2 L4), only once starting a top-flight season with a longer winless start, in 1969-70 (seven games).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
West Ham – 51.3%
Draw – 23.8%
Ipswich Town – 24.9%
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