FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Portugal coach Roberto Martinez knows to respect the underdog, having already seen his team lose to Slovenia when the round of 16 opponents at the European Championship met in a friendly in March.
Portugal lost by the same 2-0 score to Georgia in a Euro 2024 group game, and Martinez was asked Sunday about the underdog trend at the same time that Slovakia was frustrating England with a lead that lasted until the last seconds.
“All the teams here have a lot of personality. They believe that they can win,” Martinez said ahead of Portugal facing Slovenia again on Monday.
“The same applies to Slovenia. They are very well organized, competitive, and believe in what they’re doing,” he said in translated comments.
Portugal, the European champion in 2016 and still with the veteran presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe, is a big favorite.
Slovenia is playing its first elimination game in the knockout rounds at a major tournament, its fourth in 32 years as an independent soccer nation.
“It’s a historical moment for Slovenian football,” Martinez said, praising his counterpart Matjaž Kek. “We admire what their coach is doing because their national team plays like a club."
“They attack very quickly. (Andraž) Šporar and (Benjamin) Šeško have a very strong bond, and they kept a clean sheet against England.”
That 0-0 against England was a third straight draw for Slovenia, one of six teams still unbeaten at Euro 2024.
Kek joined in the mutual respect, calling Martinez “a gentleman, he always behaves like that.”
The game is likely to follow a pattern. Portugal leads the tournament in most time possessing the ball and Slovenia has the least, with UEFA assessing their scores as 64.3% and 36.7%.
“They don’t need a lot of possession to be dangerous,” Martinez said.
Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes expects patience to be key to beating goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who he described as one of the world's best.
“We know we have to tire them out, make them run around,” he said. “If we can’t do it on the inside we will do it on the outside and use the wings.”
The winner Monday in Frankfurt will move on to play France or Belgium on Friday in Hamburg.
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
Slovenia's goalkeeper Jan Oblak collides with teammate Jaka Bijol when jumping for the ball during a Group C match between Slovenia and Serbia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Portugal's Bruno Fernandes celebrates with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring his side's third goal during a Group F match between Turkey and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Portugal's head coach Roberto Martinez gives instructions from the side line during a Group F match between Turkey and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders describes President Joe Biden's recent debate performance as “painful.” In an interview, he says he's not confident that Biden can win this fall.
But the progressive senator from Vermont does not want Biden to step aside.
Instead, Sanders, who served as Biden's chief rival in the Democratic Party's 2020 nomination fight, is calling on voters to adopt “a maturity” as they view their options this fall.
“A presidential election is not a Grammy Award contest for the best singer or entertainer. It’s about who has the best policies that impact our lives," Sanders said. “I'm going to do everything I can to see that Biden gets reelected.”
That's putting the best face on it. Nearly a week after Biden’s disastrous debate performance, there is a growing sense among concerned Democrats that the party has trapped itself in a bad situation with no clear solution, caught in a primary process set up to protect Biden with elected officials unwilling to say out loud what some say quietly.
Some allies, like Sanders, are acknowledging Biden's problems but contrasting his policies and record with those of Republican Donald Trump. But many donors, strategists and party insiders want Biden to suspend his reelection campaign to avoid what they see as certain defeat come November.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas on Tuesday became the first House Democrat to call for the president to withdraw, saying “too much is at stake” for Biden to stay in the race and lose to Trump.
“He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process,” Doggett said in a written statement. “My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved.”
In private, people close to would-be Biden replacements — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Vice President Kamala Harris — are having informal conversations about potential next steps should Biden abruptly change course and step aside.
Such conversations include talk of potential running mates, according to donors involved in the discussions. Names of potential vice presidential nominees that have surfaced include Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and California Rep. Ro Khanna.
Every one of the officials on such lists has publicly pledged support for Biden in recent days. And ever defiant, Biden’s team has downplayed the president’s political problems in a series of memos and private meetings with donors, strategists and party insiders.
“The voters are powerless,” said Nina Turner, a national co-chair of Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, who now fears the Democratic Party cannot win again with Biden as the nominee. “The decision rests solely with him.”
Amid such frustration, key groups in Biden's political coalition — who had shown signs of fraying even before the debate — have begun to turn against each other.
Tim Miller, a prominent Biden supporter who once worked for Republican political campaigns, has come under attack in recent days from pro-Biden activists. They posted pictures of his family on social media after he raised concerns about Biden's general election prospects.
In an interview, however, Miller said that elected Democrats privately tell him that they share his concerns.
"For me, the only risk right now is everyone shutting up and getting in line," Miller said. “It's the right time to have an open conversation about what the path forward is. Otherwise, we’re on a trajectory for another Donald Trump presidency.”
A handful of leading Republicans from the “Never Trump” camp met privately with Biden campaign officials on Monday to encourage the president to leave the race.
The Biden campaign issued a memo over the weekend claiming he had lost little support after the debate. A separate internal memo also argued that he would retain the support of many voters who had a negative reaction to his primetime performance.
A CNN poll conducted by SSRS after the debate found that Biden’s favorability rating hasn’t shifted meaningfully, nor has the share of Americans who say they will vote for him in November. However, three-quarters of U.S. voters — and more than half of Democratic voters — say the Democratic Party would have a better chance of winning the presidency with someone else at the top of the ticket.
At the same time, the president's campaign announced on Tuesday a massive fundraising haul for the month of June. Overall, the campaign raised $127 million last month, including $33 million on the day of the debate and in its aftermath, according to the campaign. The numbers cannot be verified until federal filings are posted later in the month.
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison also made clear on Tuesday that the party's rules leave no room for a Plan B.
Biden secured almost every delegate in the state-by-state primary process this spring. They are pledged by party rules to “in all good conscience” reflect the desires of voters who chose Biden. A virtual roll call vote to formalize Biden's status as the nominee is expected weeks before the party's national convention.
“The primary is over, and in every state, the will of Democratic voters was clear: Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president," Harrison told The Associated Press. "Delegates are pledged to reflect voters’ sentiment, and over 99% of delegates are already pledged to Joe Biden headed into our convention.”
But Biden's allies in key states across the country acknowledge the fear spreading through their party ranks.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said she's worked to calm concerns about Biden's mental acuity by sharing her personal experiences.
“I have been in close-quarter meetings and conversations and interactions with the president where we’re able to talk high policy initiatives but also been able to just have a general conversation, like you’re talking to your neighbor,” Fried said. "There’s never been a time that I have questioned his abilities to run this country and to put forth the type of energy and coalition that will be necessary to win in November.”
Michigan Democratic Party chairwoman Levona Barnes said she spoke with volunteers Monday night and “yes they asked questions” about Biden’s debate performance. But “we need to focus our talks with our voters on the work that the president’s done in contrast with Donald Trump," she said.
Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch conceded that Biden's debate performance intensified questions about the president's age, which are on the minds of “everyday voters” and even “extremely energetic Biden supporters."
“Within the Biden campaign they’re acutely aware of it,” Welch said in an interview. “I thought it was a mistake for the Biden campaign to be critical of people who started asking questions the campaign itself is asking.”
Meanwhile, Vermont's other senator, Sanders, conceded that Biden's path to reelection will not be easy.
“I wasn’t confident he could win before the debate,” Sanders told The AP. “What we need on the part of the American people is a maturity right now — and that is to understand that what is important are the issues. And the difference between Trump and Biden: day and night.”
Cappelletti reported from Lansing, Michigan. Associated Press writer Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden listens during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
