Portugal’s midfielder Vitinha has urged fans to keep faith in the team ahead of the round of 32 clash against Croatia. Roberto Martinez’s team had finished in second place in the Group stage after managing draws against Congo DR and Colombia.Portugal registered a comprehensive 5-0 win against Uzbekistan in their second game, but they need to be at their best against Croatia. The team was expected to top their group, but the two draws didn’t help them.

Vitinha admitted that the doubts and criticism of fans and experts are understandable.

“I fully understand the doubts and criticism,” the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder said on Wednesday.

“We welcome them with open arms; we don’t want just a pat on the back. We know when we’re doing poorly and when we’re doing well. We’d like to thank you for all the support you’ve given us so far and ask you, once again, to support us and believe in us.

“No one wants to win more than we do; no one wants to give it their all more than we do. We’re out there for our families and our country. We’re the ones most interested in playing well and wanting to win.”

The PSG midfielder, who had been in terrific form with his club, is aware that he and his team will need to raise their game in the knockout stage.

“I hope — and I’ll do my part — to raise my own level of play, as well as that of the team,” he said.

“It’s impossible to separate the individual from the team. That’s why I hope the team performs well, and then the individual players can stand out. May the individual players push each other to make the team work.

“It’s true that our last few games haven’t been ideal, nor what we expected. There’s still time to improve and we need to improve. We know what we have to do to play better defensively and offensively, and we’ll be much closer to advancing.”

Portugal will need to come up with a collective effort.