Pedro Mendes looking forward to FA Cup final

“It’s a unique opportunity”

As he looks forward to his first final in English football, Portuguese midfielder Pedro Mendes admits that the prospect of European qualification will provide Portsmouth with extra motivation to win the FA Cup.

The south-coast club booked their place in next month’s final, where they will meet Cardiff City, with a narrow 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at Wembley on Saturday, meaning their first final appearance since 1939.

“Without doubt it will be one of the most important games of the season because the club has not been in a final for so many years,” Mendes said. “It is a unique opportunity to contest a trophy of great prestige.

“Beyond the prestige of the cup, we are also playing for European qualification. Cardiff also received today a green letter from Uefa confirming that they would also play in European competition and they won’t take that lightly.”

The competition has been derided in some quarters following the elimination of the country’s major sides ahead of the semi-finals, but before reflecting on their road to the final, Mendes insists that Cardiff warrant their respect.

Not easy

“The important thing is to be there. A final is a final and besides, Cardiff have merit. They are a club from the Championship (England’s second tier), but that doesn’t decrease their value. They eliminated Premiership teams and deserve respect. It is not going to be an easy game for us, we are not expecting that.

“The game in Manchester was the most difficult on our run (Pompey won 1-0 at Old Trafford). They were clearly better than us, but we had luck on our side and we won thanks to a penalty.”

Mendes did not play in the semi-final at Wembley, where the final will also be held, but was impressed with the atmosphere at the newly built ground: “I did not play, but I was on the bench,” he said. “It is a fantastic arena, it wasn’t full yet there were 84,000 people there. It is indescribable.”

Previous Portuguese winners of the FA Cup:

Luis Boa Morte (Arsenal) 1997/98
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) 2003/04
Hilario (Chelsea) 2006/07
Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea) 2006/07
Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea) 2006/07