Speaking at a pre-match press conference in Palm Beach, Francisco Conceicao stated: "I would like to be known simply as Francisco Conceicao. If one is talking about a player who only comes on in the last 10 or 15 minutes, that is not quite right. I play at Juventus in Serie A and I have been a regular starter for my club."
Conceicao highlighted the influence of his father Sergio, a former Portugal international, saying: "My father is my main advisor. There is no one better to talk to about football. He helps me a great deal both in football and in personal life." The pair are making history as the first Portuguese father-son combination to both feature at a World Cup.
Regarding Uzbekistan's coach Fabio Cannavaro—the Italian World Cup winner and former international teammate of Conceicao's father—the winger expressed respect while acknowledging tactical expectations: "I know he was a great player, a legend. I know Italian coaches well and I know their strategy will be to delay our goal for as long as possible. We know what difficulties await us."
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