Slovenia may have suffered a heartbreaking exit from Euro 2024 in a 3-0 shootout loss to Portugal in the last-16 on Monday but manager Matjaz Kek was proud that his players had created a culture that would help the national team build for the future.

Slovenia’s three penalties saved by goalkeeper Diogo Costa spelled the end of their tournament after an excellent defensive effort saw them hold Portugal to a 0-0 draw after extra time.

“Of course, they’re sad today, and this confirms my viewpoint,” Kek said. “It would be pathetic to speak about how they are heroes and so on and so forth.

“No, those are players who have created a national team culture that we have been missing in Slovenia.