Road to Russia (Rumo à Rússia) 2018

Wow Joao Moutinho with two beautiful free kick goals into the top corner. I didn't ever think of him as a free kick artist, maybe a hidden talent we never realized he had within him.

Sloppy game though which seems very typical for a Portugal friendly. I love Joao Mario but boy is he having one hell of a poor game. Danilo as well, giving up the ball alot. Bernardo Silva has had his moments in the game, hope he's starting at the confederation cup. Hoping to see Gelson out there at the start if the 2nd half.

 

I guess you haven't watched much of Monaco. Moutinho FK ability is certainly no secret. Joao Mario was God awful, but personally thought Danilo was decent.

 

Jesus, Gelson is a sexy beast.

 

We can all go to google images but how did he play?

 

I guess his usual spark plug self. Excellent weight on his passes, his dribbling was beautiful. Took only a couple minutes for him to wreak havoc after coming on. Would like to see him and B.Silva play together.

 

Sad to see Joao Mario play that way when he has so much more to offer, the last few months at Inter with all the club turmoil really hurt him.

 

any one have a link to the whole game? was out today with the family

 

Like i said, our players are just better off staying in Portugal or Spain. The second we leave the Iberian Peninsula, it all goes to shit.

 

Siiiuuuuuu

Pumped for the game

 

I'm really anxious about this game right now. There's no reason other than these games can be tricky: qualifier you should win and need to win, on the road, average but not bad competition...

Should be a straightforward win though.

 

Yikes, it looks like Pepe isn't healthy yet:

Patricio

Cedric | Fonte | Alves | Guerreiro

Moutinho| William | Gomes

Martins| Silva | Cristiano​

 

Pepe injured in his foot today, extent of the injury is not yet known.

I love that lineup, a little surprised no Bernardo Silva but I have no problem with Gelson in the team over him. Will be interesting to see how he plays today.

 

Yeah, they're still having a difficult time figuring out how to fit Bernardo in correctly. He didn't do a whole lot against Cyprus. Hopefully he'll come off the bench as Latvia tires and do some damage.

I'm not questioning Gelson's ability, but I hope this isn't the case of a guy looking like a terror in friendlies and off the bench then being lost starting a meaningful match.

 

Pepe injured and will miss the game, without him in there I always worry about our defense.

Gelson starting is the wrong move imho, he has been doing fantastic as an impact sub, Bernardo Silva should playing in the starting 11.

At the very least if Gelson was starting remove Andre Gomes and play Bernardo Silva as the third midfielder.

 

Why not Adrien instead of Andre Gomes ?

 

Because we'll have so much possession, we need more creativity and movement.

Adrien is Moutinho's replacement.

 

William- CM (the best in form player out of Moutinho/Adrien/Andre Gomes/Renato Sanches)
-----J.Mario------
Bernardo-Ronaldo-Gelson

But what happens to Andre Silva?

so remove Joao Mario and play Bernardo in behind Gelson-Andre Silva-Ronaldo?

Or you can do what Santos has done, go conservative, start three pure CM's, and sacrifice some attacking intent.

Atleast for the first time in a long time we have quality options.

 

Gelson looked scared shitless during the anthem

hahahahah

 

This game is going to be fought in the middle

What's up with Gelson, he was The only one not singing the anthem

 

William can't pick out a pass. With Ronaldo and Silva up top we need service. This game should've had Quaresma start and then Gelson comes in later

 

Getting outplayed so far. It's like we didn't expect Latvia to do anything other than sit back and defend. When they gain possession they have a sense of urgency that Portugal is lacking.

The match is on ESPN 3/Watch ESPN. You should be able to watch as long as your wifi is through an ESPN 3-approved provider.