A couple things: Where are all the chops? i cant help but notice these forums are not as lively as normal during a tournament or is this a result of it being Confed cup? In truth, given the lack of trophies Portugal has... every tournament should be treated as a big one, and another to help create a winning legacy, which at this point we do not have. Anyways... onto the Russia game.. I wanna see a line up consisting of --Ronaldo---------Silva----------Gelson ---Adrien----------William--------Bernardo -Raphael--Pepe---------Fonte---Cedric ---------------------Rui I expect to see a team consisting of: --Ronaldo-------Silva-------Nani --Gomes-------William------Moutinho -Raphel---Pepe-----Fonte--------Cedric Given our history in opening matches to tournaments, i cant say i am totally surprised by the result.. and in truth taking a point is not the end of the world. We SHOULD.. key word being 'should' be able to beat Russia and NZ, thus guaranteeing qualification.
Russia at home has always been a problem for us going back to the USSR days we have NEVER won in Russia. We have won every home game (including Russia's worst ever defeat 7-1) and neutral venue (including 3rd place in World Cup 1966) but all time in Russia we are: 0W-1D-6L I will happily take the draw on this one and then run up the GD on New Zealand to progress
Portugal away to Russia is 0-2-1. Comparing the teams by using USSR makes really no sense. One game being a friendly makes it also less relative. However, considering they are home and a motherland of corruption, I'm also skeptical we beat this mediocre team.
Yesterday's match was frustrating for any number of reasons, but watching Santos trot out the same lineup again on Wednesday would be much worse. We all want Portugal to do well in this tournament and winning the thing is absolutely doable. However, I would rank winning this Confederations Cup well below figuring out the best way to utilize Bernardo Silva and implement the young guys who are too good to sit on the bench for 80-90 minutes behind Quaresma, Nani, Moutinho, etc. This tournament is a golden opportunity to play around and figure out the best way to compete next summer. Why do you think Germany sent its B team? Santos wants to win, I get that. It'd be cool to do, it'd be special, it's a unique opportunity only seven other countries share. But no game Portugal plays in this tournament is more important than, say, the match a couple weeks ago in Latvia. Play Bernardo, play Gelson, try to get better performances from Andre Gomes, get Pizzi and Semedo on the pitch a little bit... I'm not against Quaresma and Nani playing meaningful minutes, but not essentially ALL the minutes at the same time. Portugal played poorly against Mexico and still had no business only getting a point. Taking full advantage of the talent on hand is a great way to prevent that from happening over and over again against inferior teams in group play.
Should be a big game. Russia will have an advantage as they are home but we need to play Bernardo and Gelson more
Andre Silva absolutely needs to be starting this tournament, kid needs to get meaningful reps in. He looked comfortable when he came in on Sunday. Let Quaresma play impact supersub off the bench like he should be.
Agreed. Andre Silva needs to be starting. I have been telling all the Portistas i know that this guy is the real deal... coming from a Benfica fan, it says something. Yet, the wierd thing is all the Porto fans seem to have something against him.. i just dont get it. This reminds me of Nelson Oliveira, young hot shot striker looking to make his mark as the star striker on the NT. Well, we all know what happened to Oliveira. This is different though, Andre Silva has already demonstrated he is more than capable of playing for the NT, and the chemistry he has already formed with Ronaldo will do nothing but extend the career of Ronaldo, given less pressure on him, combined with the fact Zidane is resting him more frequently in the league (he isnt leaving Madrid FYI).
If there are any Portuguese fans at this game, i fear for their safety. Don't even bother. Putin would condone violence against the left wing haven that is Portugal. The leader of the UN is also Portuguese so Putin will pay off the refs/video review at all costs to give Russia an advantage. Infantino is there to combat him for us though.
We are 0-1-3 vs Russia proper and we have never scored vs them. The 2 vs Mexico were our first goals in the country. Regardless, we have never won on Russian soil is my point. We should be able to this time around since Russia isn't the team they were in 2008 and clearly only winning 2-0 vs New Zealand should say a lot. I feel a draw followed by a thumping of the Kiwis (3-0+ should do) will be enough for the semi's as Mexico and Russia will both go into the final game on 4 points and at worst a draw in that game would basically come down to GD for progression. A loss vs Russia and our tournamnet is basically done.
We know the hosts are favored every time: England 1966, South Korea 2002, Portugal 2004, etc. Portugal's job is to simply be good enough to score referee bias notwithstanding. At least there's goal-line technology now. Hope we do it, 'cause we never did score away against either USSR or Russia. We did in youth age groups, but that doesn't count.
Not sure if I've been out of the European players loop for too long or if Russia is really completely overhauled but the only names I recognize are Akinfeev, Smolinkinov and Zhirkov?
Russia is facing a lot of injuries. Their squad is subsequently pretty weakened as a result, but they do have a pretty good young player in Golovin. I agree with a lot of what is being said in this thread, we need to utilize the this tournament to give confidence to some of the younger players who could become key members in 2018 and integrate others into our setup. ------------------------------------------Patricio---------------------------------------------- -------------------------Pepe--------------------------Fonte---------------------------------- Cedric/Nelson Semedo----------------------------------------------------------Gurreiro --------------------------------------William Carvalho---------------------------------------- ----------------------Adrien-----------------------------B.Silva---------------------------------- Gelson Martins----------------Andre Silva----------------------------------------Ronaldo Quaresma is always better off the bench, and Adrien with his energy and more physical play is required here in place of Moutinho who is a shadow of the player he used to be. I wouldn't be surprised thought to see Danilo start because Santos might think we're too physically weak, and by the some token Andre Gomes might start for his size. This is what I think Santos will go with: -------------------------------------------------Patricio------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------Pepe-------------------------------Fonte--------------------------------- Cedric----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gurreiro -------------------------------------William Carvalho/Danilo---------------------------------------- ------------------------Adrien--------------------------------Andre Gomes------------------------------ --------------Bernardo Silva------------Andre Silva-------------------Ronaldo-------------------
Bernardo Silva won't start, he has to prove to everybody that he can teleport before he is considered. It's a crime that he's seen no action lately.
In the past I would've agreed 100% but so far everytime he has come on he hasn't impressed. IMO Portugal is giving him the Danny treatment playing him out of position when he is called. Bernardo has to adapt to the system the next time he gets a chance which if not vs Russia then surely vs New Zealand.
I can only find a record of 1 draw and 2 defeats in Russia. Overall record of 3 wins 2 losses and a draw. Either way your right, playing in Russia has proven to be difficult. I agree a draw would be fine and would set a path towards the semis. It would also mark the beginning of troll mission 2.0, with everyone saying we only beat New Zealand.