Miguel Veloso: The midfielder praises Portuguese defending

Portugal midfielder Miguel Veloso hailed his side's display as they overcame Holland to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.

The Dutch were outplayed for large spells and a double from captain Cristiano Ronaldo inspired the Portuguese to a 2-1 victory, sending the 2010 World Cup finalists out of the tournament.

Ronaldo's goals - one in each half - saw the 2004 finalists progress to the last eight and set up a clash against the Czech Republic.

The Real Madrid star also laid to rest the criticism he had come under after failing to score in their opening two matches.

And Veloso was quick to insist how settled Paulo Bento's side have become after he named an unchanged team for the fifth consecutive competitive match.

"Once again we showed how united we are as a team," the 26-year-old Genoa man said.

"It wasn't easy to start with a defeat. The secret was our defending, our humility."

Bento added his side must be at their best if they want to reach the last four of the competition and expects a tough encounter against the Czechs on Thursday in Warsaw.

"It won't be easy. We'll have to be this good again to reach the semi-finals," he said.

Meanwhile Cristiano Ronaldo, who was named man of the match for his two-goal display said: "Portugal have succeeded in our aim to qualify. Now we have to play against the Czechs and that is going to be hard but we'll see what happens."