The Portuguese national team bounced back from a disappointing performance in its Confederations Cup debut against Mexico with a sparkling first half against hosts Russia.
A Seleção controlled the match out of the gate, taking an early lead in the eighth minute through Cristiano Ronaldo, who tracked a great cross from Raphaël Guerreiro onto the far post and headed a bullet past Igor Akinfeev.
It would be the only goal of the match as the Portuguese would escape Moscow with a 1-0 win, forced to hold onto the slim lead as Russia fought to equalize in the dying seconds. Had they taken advantage of numerous chances throughout the first 60 minutes of play, the final half-hour of play wouldn’t have been so tense.
But alas, suffering through the end is the Portuguese way, as evidenced in their Euro 2016 campaign which saw all but one of the knockout matches decided by a goal in extra-time or in penalties.
With the win, Portugal control their own destiny into the competition’s semi-final — win against New Zealand, and they’re in, be it in second or first place.
Before worrying about that, though, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of Portugal’s second ever Confederations Cup match.
Some thoughts:
— The changes to the starting line-up paid dividends early for Fernando Santos, particularly with the three Silva’s.
- Adrien Silva for João Moutinho changed the dynamic of the midfield.
Moutinho has been increasingly more apprehensive to be involved in the development of plays, choosing rather to sit back deeper and deeper and forcing William Carvalho to leave his comfort zone and push the ball forward.
Adrien, in turn, was far more proactive. Along with pushing the ball up himself like the box-to-box midfielder is expected, the Sporting man was found in advanced positions multiple times, and perhaps more importantly, connected perfectly with Carvalho. Having commanded Sporting’s midfield together for the past four seasons, the chemistry was evident.
- Bernardo Silva for Nani changed the dynamic in the attacking third.
As every manager of the Portuguese national team has shown for the past decade, Nani has a spot on the squad until the day he hangs the boots up. If he elects to play until he is 75, he’d find space in the starting line-up, so it was no surprise to see him selected to begin Portugal’s match against Mexico. It was also no surprise to see him be less than inspired, providing next to nothing to his team.
While I would have preferred to see Silva slot in for André Gomes, removing Nani was a welcome substitution. Bernardo repaid the faith by showing why his name was floated around by fans as the ideal replacement for injured João Mario. He was active both with and without the ball, pressuring opposing center-backs and helping recover the ball in Portugal’s dominant first half display.
Bernardo failed to exploit the space between the lines left by Russia as it attempted to clog the midfield in an attempt to force Portugal to play long balls from defense, spaces he normally thrives in, but he excelled in creating on the wings and provided a strong improvement from Nani’s presence.
- André Silva for Ricardo Quaresma changed the dynamic of Santos’ 4x4x2, giving the team a natural striker.
Admittedly, Silva didn’t play as well as he did when he came on in the final 10 minutes against Mexico, where he seemed to be far more dangerous in attack. He seemed more passive, more willing to let the game come to him than going out to pursue it.
Silva did provide Akinfeev with his first scare of the second half, forcing the Russian keeper into one of the best saves he’s made with a strong header to the far post, but other than that, he wasn’t very active.
Regardless, it’s a welcome change simply for the fact his presence opened up space for his teammates.
With Nani and Quaresma’s natural tendency to go out wide on the flanks to throw in crosses, Portugal was without bodies in the penalty area alongside Cristiano Ronaldo when the tandem played against Mexico. With Silva, the presence of a capable striker pulled the Russian centerbacks towards the box, leaving room for Bernardo, Gomes, Cedric and Guerreiro to work their magic on the wings.
— The inclusion of Bruno Alves over José Fonte was a surprise — my first guess was either Fonte was punished for his poor marking of Moreno in Mexico’s equalizer, or that he was expecting a more physical game from Russia’s forwards — but it went better than expected. Alves was as strong in the air as ever, solid on the ground and, most importantly, tame enough to avoid receiving his usual yellow card.
— Speaking of center backs, Pepe was easily Portugal’s best player. He won every aerial duel he entered in the match, denying the Russians a single shot on target as he cut off cross after cross. Fresh off a rib injury that kept him out of the final two months of Real Madrid’s La Liga and Champions League double-winning campaign, Pepe continues to have the heart he had on display throughout his career.
— Raphaël Guerreiro bounced back from his Mexico disappointment in a big way. He was playing up to the level we’ve come to expect from him, only to suffer what his manager said is suspected to be a fractured bone in his foot after getting stepped on in his penalty area.
Eliseu came on to replace him, and while he wasn’t awful, the fact of the matter is he isn’t anywhere near Guerreiro’s quality.
Given that the Borussia Dortmund player won’t play for the rest of the tournament, Portugal’s hopes of winning the tournament lies on Eliseu playing well enough to not be a liability at left-back.
— Despite scoring the match’s only goal, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t play as well as he did against Mexico. He did, however, whip out a vintage move he hasn’t done very often since he departed Manchester United for Spain in 2009.
For you Cristiano Ronaldo fans that miss his dribbling…… he just sent the defender completely the wrong way ? pic.twitter.com/36OR0SqUw1
— ? (@TheBarcaDecree) June 21, 2017
It would’ve been nice to see him finish, or at least cut back to a teammate, but just the sight of Ronaldo stepping over and breaking a defenders ankles sent waves of nostalgia through my mind.
Brb, gonna go watch hours of highlights of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United.
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Follow Brian Fonseca on Twitter @briannnnf for updates. Email him at brianfilipefonseca@gmail.com with questions, concerns, tips or story ideas.
