Match Day 2 (pbp) - Portugal v. Spain- Sochi

It's historically been an issue with the attitude of the FA and the toxic media rather than an isolationist attitude. Youth development was never taken as seriously as elsewhere in Europe until relatively recently, as the sheer amount of professional clubs (and in prior years the influx of Scottish players) would develop enough players to feed the top division before foreign players became common. It's changed recently, and we have some serious talent coming through. They just need to get the game time to develop.

 

I didn't know that supporting another club and country deemed me unfit to give my opinion on what I have been seeing for years now. If you actually read my posts you would have read that I think Portugal have a strong collective, but only an in form Ronaldo, can make them an elite squad, able to get results against the best teams in the world. Also, not performing well at WC 2010 or WC2014 is exactly why Portugal didn't "play so well". When he is on, Portugal always have a chance. When Ronaldo retires, and Portugal plays in another big tournament without him we can talk again. Cause we will never agree on this and I'm not one for pointless back and forths. Good luck with the rest of the tournament!

 

I think they have worthy players on paper, but they need the competition and know how to evolve. The Athlantic is a significant barrier for them. On the other hand, we have a long tradition of importing South American players.

 

World cup 2010 was not a great performance, but in the end Portugal did get a draw against Brasil and only lost to the strongest Spanish side in memory by 1-0. You can't even compare that with 2014.

 

Foreign player quotas and work permits play a part. Many Argentinians and Brazilians can qualify as European players and there's always been strong family ties, especially to Italy and Portugal respectively.

 

So did the Netherlands in the WC final in 2010, and if we had someone like Ronaldo, we would have had a MUCH better shot at beating them seeing the chances we had, and missed.

 

I'm just saying that the calendar didn't help, while it made all the difference in 2016. The team did not underperform in that tournament. And you had Sneijder in great shape.

 

Spain had 62% possession, 90+% accuracy, scored three, and drew. Portugal scored three and had chances for more. The FIFA rules of full time and replay are going to help the player (Ronaldo) who gets the most abuse. As a Portugal fan I'm hopeful.

 

talk about contrast in styles. Spain was much about nothing and portugal did much with nothing.

Funny, I remember watching Hierro's spanish team when he was a player. They did exactly this same damn thing and it's the reason Spain could never challenge.

Their backline was shambolic. They were not given any support on the counters. They might as well be Spain, '94. Please, before you go out, beat the Germans.

 

fixed. emphasis on singlehandedly.

 

Technically I didn't make that comparison, the guy I quoted did. While Sneijder was great, he's no Ronaldo. Ronaldo and Messi are in a different bracket altogether. The pure motivation and energy one gets from playing beside such beast of a players is a very underrated aspect imo.

 

Beat the French!

 

We are arguing different things. I'm just disappointed that Portugal didn't show the same level of cohesiveness of 2010 and 2012 against stronger Spanish sides, while I think that some of the youngsters have true potential. I'm not downplaying Ronaldo.

 

Ok, first beat the germans, then the french, then go out. I'd like to see an Argentina v. Portugal final, but Portugal play such a boring style. When Greece won the Euros, I thought I had see an end to it. Then portugal decided to bring sexy back. Oh man.

 

Not at all ... Costa's elbow was in the vicinity of Pepe's head, but in the end there was no real contact. Pepe simulated the contact.

 

Because of Messi v Ronaldo? I have Argentina losing to France in the R16. Personally I would go crazy dealing with the casual fans for such a game, they already can barely grasp what stoppage time is, stupid Americans!

 

Yeah. It can get irritating. I try and find the local french bars because they yell out the best sounding cuss words. That France v. Portugal with Zidan is probably the single best game of international soccer I've ever seen.

I don't think I will see that caliber of match again in my lifetime.

 

Population is a poor indicator of a nations ability to produce quality players. It's certainly a factor, but the more important factor is the quality of player development. In the US's case, our player development is very lacking. We miss A LOT of players. Not just because our primary focus is centered around where MLS teams are, but also because our system is Pay to Play, so our players tend to come from rich, white families and we miss most poor, non-whites kids. The US also tends to favor larger, more physical players and kids that are undersized and more technically proficient are filtered out of the system.

Things are certainly improving in the US, but we've just started being serious about player development, so we should start seeing things change in the future.

 

What a game.

 

To argue that Portugal is nothing without Ronaldo is laughable. They'd still be one of the better teams in the tournament. They didn't show it today vs. Spain, but you can't tell me that a team with Guerreiro, Guedes, Bernardo Silva, Andre Silva, Carvalho and Joao Mario is lacking quality.

 

Here in the States "soccer" is a hobby, an option for kids with too much energy to wear themselves out. Kids just don't plat pickup soccer. I hate the USMNT, why root for those losers just bc I'm American? They don't deserve it. The women do, they struggle and work. Totally different bc America's top sports exclude women.

 

I literally posted about this being my favorite Portugal memory, just yesterday. Thanks!