PORTUGAL VS SPAIN 2018 FIFA World Cup Group Stage [R]

In regards to your line up, i would keep Bruno Fernandes in, and replace Joao Moutinho..

Would also keep Cedric. Look, the guy gets a lot of slack for being offensively challenged, but over the last 2+ years, he has been solid for the NT. We need to keep the back line together for the most part, and allow them to form that chemistry that made them solid 2 years ago. Fonte is the only guy i would change for the next two games, which would allow Dias some time to gather experience and minutes along side Pepe. I really wish he had of gotten more time in the friendlies.. and sincerely hope Fonte is not replaced by Bruno Alves.


Lets give the young guys another shot, and hope that it was the nerves of playing their first WC match against an extremely difficult opponent in Spain.

 

I actually thought Dias would have been a better option v Spain. A more athletic quicker player who can change direction and keep up with the tiki taka touches the Spanish induce.

Out of curiosity? Diego Costas goal, where he dangled Fonte left-right-left-right and just had his way with him.. do you or anyone else for that matter think Dias would have been more confident to make some sort of challenge? instead of watching Costa go left/right multiple times in such a danger area?

Interesting debate.. one we will never know the answer to.. but i definitely think Dias in that situation makes a better effort on the ball..

 

Still a foul, still soft by Pepe, still cost a goal.

2/3

 

I wish people would leave their club loyalties at the door in this forum.

I think your all being a bit harsh on the side, yes they made mistakes but so did Spain. Both sides had opportunities to put their foot on the throat and failed to do so. Before Costas first goal which was a foul on Pepe Portugal has Spain were they wanted them. Guedes scores that goal and we're 2-0 up.

A 3-3 draw is a great result in the context of the group. Fernandes, Guedes & Bernardo will be better for the experience, don't forget this was their first world cup matche. Nerves are to be expected.

Hopefully we can win in Moscow and pretty much be through.

 

First things first, it was the starting lineup we all wanted but Bruno Fernandes and Guedes suffered from the occasion. They did not have the impact seen vs Algeria but thats to be expected, I'm not angry about that. Facing Spain in a world Cup really psychologically got to them, and when you factor in Spains constant suffocating press and pure quality of passing/interchanging positions then its understandable.

I hear comments about Bernardo Silva, arguably our most important player after Ronaldo being non-existant and struggling and while he was I really think we should analyze why. Bernardo is a possession player, he needs touches on the ball and movement around him to be effective and make use of his skill/vision. Against Spain he was virtually on his own except for when he drifted inside which imho is his best position...whenever he got the ball there were multiple Spanish players around him and Cedric offered ZERO support and width.

Cedric was awful, he did not come forward often and didnt drag anyone away, nor was he remotely dangerous or effective in possession. How many "Charutes para a front" did he do? This allowed Jordi Alba to bomb forward recklessly because he knew Bernardo would be closed by others and would have no space/options to use as a decoy or give the ball to. With Ricardo there and making his trademark bombing runs with speed/power/skill a few times Alba would have been far more cautious and not move forward nearly as much. Albas movement really is what helped Isco/Silva/Iniesta/Thiago because it drags away the extra coverage.

Dias was never going to start, he has 1 international start in a friendly vs Tunisia, one game at Old Trafford, and just league games. Yes he has quality, but it would have been a recipe for disaster..he might have succumbed to the occasion like Bruno Fernandes and Guedes..and imagine that at CB?! Fonte was always the option, for good or bad. We have to hope he improves vs Morocco because Costa was ragdolled him.

Moutinho was ok, and William was a little better but not the beast he can be. Gurreiro was good overall but tired at the end which is understandable considering his season of injuries.

We started so well the first 20 minutes, we pressed them, disrupted their style of play and looked dangerous on the counter..Guedes had a golden opportunity where he should have scored but got nervous/panicked. A minute later Diego Costa scored ( imho he fouled Pepe, how many times is that called?) and the game COMPLETELY CHANGED. We sagged, to be expected a bit since we're a young team overall...but we really sagged. Up until the 75th or so minute We really had nothing. We just sat back, didnt venture forward, and couldnt string a pass together with another. Those last 15 minutes we really woke up and regained control a bit, we pressed Spain high up the field again, nullified them a lot, and starting regaining possession and crafting opportunities. After Ronaldos magical moment, we could have won it as we were the only team that looked like scoring...Quaresma should have shot a fraction earlier or faked a third shot to take out a sliding Koke...damn so close. Plus Ronaldo completely missed on a free header.

Ultimately I believe we played within ourselves a lot, Santos set them out to be cautious and simple but press Spain high to regain possession quicker and put them under constant pressure with the skill of our players on the counter but Diego Costa's goal completely changed the game. Santos even said as much ans gave us a 6/10 performance rating which is about right. We also dont have the same solid defense like in Euro 2016 to absorb constant pressure from one of the top 4 teams in the World....we CANT do that with Fonte not as good and Pepe two years older. Plus Cedric is just not good right now and never really offered much besides workrate.

Everyone is saying we're a one man team and suck without Ronaldo...let them. Against Morcocco we will play far more assertive and expansive. We shelled vs Spain for the most part. They think all our players suck but will be in for a surprise because Spain is the best team in the tournament, played a fantastic game against us, and took away time/space and showed the quality they have which the other teams wont. We will have so much more space, and be by far the more skilled team bar 2/3 players on Morocco.

Ronaldo was amazing, he was electric on the ball all match in terms of build up, one touch control and passing, dribbling, explosiveness...he looked the sharpest he has in months. We need to pray he is 100% because it completely transforms our team in front of goal and presses other teams defenses back.

Ricardo in for Cedric and Joao Mario for Bruno Fernandes, the rest should be the same vs Morocco..give Guedes another opportunity to settle his nerves.

 

Spain should be worried with DeGea in net... He looks shaky.

Re-watching the game and some of their players were crying -- Ronaldo owned thm!

 

Spain could hardly have played better but we hung with them. More than that, we showed them up. It was a good result.

 

Not worried about Bernardo at all.

Ronaldo imperious.

Rui Patrício did not put a foot wrong.

 

Regardless of Pepes foul. Dude was a no show yesterday. Got owned on the far post on Spains second goal. Everyone knew the ball was coming in and the dude just ball watched and got clowned on. We are so thin at the back. I would honestly prefer Semedo over Cedric.

This team needs Adrien in the lineup to help win possession and keep possession.

 

Guedes is a second striker or a winger. He'll never succeed as a #9. Andre Silva needs to play.

If Bernardo doesn't show up against Morocco I expect Joao Mario or someone else to start against Iran.

I also agree on Nani. Dude shows up for Portugal. He carried us in the group stages at the Euro

 

Nani never went missing
Nani shows up for Portugal

He had 1 tournament where he wasn't anonymous. Nani made NO decisions, and when he did it was usually to blast a shot into orbit

Bernardo will bloom into something Nani could only dream of

 

Nani had 3 goals and 1 assist during our Euro triumph while Bernardo shit the bed on the biggest stage so far in his international career. Please dude. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Bernardo hasn't proved a goddam thing thus far.

The irrational hate for Nani in this forum blows my mind.

 

Nani was a clutch player. He could disappear for large parts of the game but would score an important goal or assist on a goal. He was also a nightmare to defend against since he would just run all over the place.

It is too bad that he is finished but we have to work with what we have. I'd love to have Maniche back but that is also not possible.

 

Rui
Ricardo - Pepe - Dias - Mario Rui
William
Bernardo Bruno/adrien Joao Mario
Guedes Ronaldo

Cedric was shit, Fonte won't get better and he was shit I have more faith in Bruno Alves gaining momentum in this tournament he's proven in the past he can step in on a seconds notice. Guerreiro was god awful. Ricardo and Mario Rui is a good balance Ricardo as our offensive fullback and Mario Rui as our defensive minded fullback, Ricardo can't be any worse than Guerreiro going forward in his current form nor defensively, This will also help Bernardo going forward. Mario Rui is a starting LB for second placed Napoli in Serie A nearly winning the scudetto probably better defensively than Cedric and definitely better going forward.

Joao Moutinho keeps getting chance after chance and he always ********s it up, He was positioning himself poorly and was running in his own end like a headless chicken. I honestly don't blame Cedric for his poor performance he couldn't initiate an offside trap because Moutinho was running around like a headless chicken taking cedrics man.

I would probably start Bruno over Adrien in the group stage as we are going to have to go out there for the win these next 2 matches. Switch over to Adrien during the knockout stages unless Bruno proves he can be a stud defensively.

I would probably start Andre in the next 2 matches as we will probably be maintaining possession but... Ronaldo is our CF I don't see us being effective with 2 CF Guedes starting as a second striker interchanging with Bernardo, Mario and Bruno is probably our best bet going forward.

 

ololololololo

 

That response is exactly why.

You’re the scumbag Sporting fan that sits in the corner of the Café by himself because nothing but negativity spews out of your mouth.

Go get ********ed in the ass you San Francisco ************

 

No one cares about your personal dislike, either of you. Super boring. Stick to Portuguese football, that is good stuff.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo stopped Times Square traffic as he led #POR to an incredible comeback! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/nZh1lsGM4j

— COPA90 US (@Copa90US) June 15, 2018

 

It was a clear FOUL but it looks like refs have the discretion to disregard what video playbacks might have shown in some instances....

 

Where did that cedric lover go that kept telling me he was our best rb?

Cedric is a void.

We are crazy for not going with Ricardo or Semedo there. I kept saying this non stop and now look........

 

It's a shame we the Portuguese are showing the same prejudging ignorance so many others show on these forums.

You guys really believe you have the answers after 1 game? We are extremely lucky to have B.Silva, and it's almost assured he will be a few levels above Nani. Guedes is the second coming of Christ after Algeria, but after Spain, well now he's sh#t. Cedric won a spot over Semedo for a reason. Even though Semedo has had limited time with the NT, does anyone recall even a 10 minute stretch where he played well?

What I'm saying is, the smartest most knowledgeable people in the world tend to judge things when given enough data, and the stupid are the ones that jump to conclusions. Wait at least 1 more game before judging.

 

Guedes got beat for the header assist to Costa from the back post, so I’m not sure how Pepe was “owned” on that play. He wasn’t responsible for either player involved in the goal. You might want to watch it closer next time.

I rewatched the match on Friday night because I’d watched at the office without audio and felt a lot better after that second viewing. Spain’s chances seemed more dangerous the first time around and two of the goals were pretty fortunate (Costa’s first for obvious reasons and also because his shot had like a centimeter of space on each side between defenders).

The game changed once Moutinho gave away that FK. Portugal came out organized defensively to start the second half and Spain spent the first 10 minutes just passing back and forth without creating any danger. Obviously, they would’ve created chances eventually, but Portugal looked comfortable with that 2-1 lead until the foul that led to the equalizer. Then, just like after Spain’s first goal, they were rampant looking to take the lead. And that third goal was from a Portugal clearance deflected off a teammate and Nacho’s shot was off his own ankle/shin - a great, but lucky strike.

Anyway, Portugal played pretty poorly individually, but wasn’t in disarray on defense as it seemed more often live. Possession was bad, passing was bad, but if Ronaldo is really sharp all tournament for the first time since he became the No. 1 guy, Portugal’s going to be able to win any game because the rest of the team will settle down and play better.

 

Are you trying to illuminate SCP_16? That dude is no longer on earth, it's like all the years of living in a trailer park as fried his brain.

Don't bother responding SCP_16, I'll do it for you.

(Fu%k off fuc^%ng ************ benfica dick rider you don't know sh$t ************)

That's about the extent of his vocabulary.