Hamburg, Jul 5 (IANS): Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva dismissed all Kylian Mbappe vs Cristiano Ronaldo narratives ahead of the Euro 2024 quarterfinal against France and said "its not about them, it's about Portugal and France".

Bernardo has been a key part of the Portugal squad in the past few years and has played with Ronaldo. His time at AS Monaco saw him win Ligue 1 when Mbappe was labeled a prodigy at the age of 16.

"It's not about Kylian and Cristiano – it's about Portugal and France. They are both two unbelievable players. Cristiano is one of the best to ever play the game. Kylian is still going through the beginning or middle of his career. But it's not about them. As Portugal, we want to go through and qualify for the semi-finals," said Silva to reporters in the pregame press conference.

"Kylian is a wonderful player and started with us at AS Monaco when he was 16. I remember after his first week we would say 'who's this kid?' I am so delighted for him that he was able to have a wonderful career. I wish him the best but not [against us] obviously. I want us to qualify," added the Manchester City midfielder.

Portugal have not been at their very best and have struggled to score goals in this campaign. Their 3-0 routing of Turkey was a solid performance by the side displaying their potential but went on to lose 2-0 against Georgia in their final group game and win on penalties against Slovenia in the Round of 16.

Portuguese manager Roberto Martinez claimed he is at peace with all the talk surrounding him claiming, "Criticism is part of the job description. Criticism shows how passionate people are about the national team and I accept that. I believe we have very important players and a very competitive dressing room. I see them every day in training so can make decisions."