Portugal boss Paulo Bento has refused to make excuses for Sunday's shock 1-0 defeat to Albania in their opening qualification match for Euro 2016.

The Iberian nation were without skipper Cristiano Ronaldo for the international clash, but Bento refused to cite the loss of the Real Madrid attacker when questioned on the defeat.

"I'm not making excuses," Bento told Uefa's official website.

"It wasn't a lack of commitment on the part of my players but we weren't efficient enough, while Albania were very efficient. We are all frustrated because of the result. We could have done better, even though I think we were not that bad."

Portugal face Denmark in their next qualifier on October 14.

Written by
Matt Law