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

Discussion in 'Portugal: National Teams' started by GoodDead, Jun 15, 2018.

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  1. NewLaw83

    NewLaw83 Member+

    Jun 3, 2015
    Boston, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    Yeah 90% of the blame is on midfield. They couldn't get any rhythm going forward and they did not help out the defense.
     
  2. portugamerifinn

    portugamerifinn Member+

    Feb 22, 2005
    Bay Area / London
    I thought that in addition to Guedes not getting anything sent his way by the midfield (as NewLaw83 mentioned), he did a pretty good job applying some pressure trying to win the ball back. Even without scoring, he's showing why he's on the pitch. Between he and Ronaldo, Portugal has two guys who can suddenly have great scoring opportunities out of nowhere.

    At this point, with Portugal's inability to keep the ball or pass it in the midfield, I'm ready to see Ronaldo, Guedes and Andre Silva on the pitch together. Might as well have all your most potent scorers out there to take advantage of chances if you're barely gonna have the ball.
     
  3. CristianoQuaresma

    Jun 14, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Guedes wasn't good, end of story. I love the kid and I think he's got a lot of talent to be a star in his own right but he's been choking so far in this tournament.

    But as some of you have said, the bigger issue is our midfield. Was it the wrong selection or just a lack of effort from them? It was HORRIBLE to watch. Probably our worst game under Santos.

    The good thing is, I don't believe we can play any worse. Santos will have to respond by making changes, no doubt in my mind. Let's just hope he gets it right against Iran and that the players respond.

    Tie or win the game and we are through.
     
  4. NewLaw83

    NewLaw83 Member+

    Jun 3, 2015
    Boston, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    Yeah that would be interesting. Have Ronaldo and Guedes as the wingers with Andre Silva as the striker in a 4-3-3. but you would lose the CM position as you NEED William in there as DM.
     
  5. Jonathan Pimentel

    Aug 29, 2013
    Club:
    SL Benfica
    lol.. maybe they wont notice..

    good catch.
     
  6. Jonathan Pimentel

    Aug 29, 2013
    Club:
    SL Benfica
    I would side with those who say Guedes did not play that poorly.

    He was in a good position to receive that goal scoring opportunity, and if you noticed (fernando santos hinted at this after the game too) that after 15-20 minutes they put Ronaldo upfront by himself because our midfield was in shambles.. so Guedes left the forward role to help the left side (mario/guerreiro) as they were getting eaten alive every time Morocco had the ball..

    that being said, i do think Andre Silva will start the next game.. no doubt in my mind just given what kind of team Iran is and their style of play..
     
  7. FigoIsGod

    FigoIsGod Member

    Jan 16, 2005
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    This is beyond identifying two or three players that “were crap and shouldn’t start next game.”

    This was a tactical error by Santos. He anticipated their high pressing game by reverting to long ball tactics, huge spaces between our players when we did have possession, and just not the Portugal way of playing.

    There were many times where William was standing two feet next to a defender asking for the ball to start the attack, but we would bypass and send a 50 yard ball up field. We regularly had Moutinho and William on an island in midfield with a flat front 4 miles apart from them. JM would stand by their RB, Bernardo with the LB, and Guedes-Ronaldo lost in the middle. How did we expect to sustain any possession or pressure with such a disjointed formation?

    Iran will come out high pressing as well. We have the technical ability to get around this and move the ball quickly on the ground. We shouldn’t be trying to play this garbage long ball tactic. We have no experience doing so, look clueless doing it, and it results in the opponent getting 15 shots. People comparing this to the Euros are out to lunch, that defensive unit(all 11 players, not just 4 defenders) were tight and did not allow anything over 90 minutes. This team is getting ripped to shreds on every attack. Scary stuff.
     
  8. NewLaw83

    NewLaw83 Member+

    Jun 3, 2015
    Boston, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    Agreed. Even some of the haters were saying that Portugal were bunkering. It's not bunkering when the midfield is not back to help on defense!
     
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  9. BatatasFritas

    BatatasFritas Member+

    Nov 29, 2004
    Toronto
    Club:
    FC Porto
    Alright, I'm calm now. We got the 3 points and that's all it matters for now. Bring on Iran!
     
  10. CristianoQuaresma

    Jun 14, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Spain & Iran still tied 0-0 at half time.. I honestly don't even know how I feel about this. Do we even want them to tie??

    No matter what, I believe we will have to fight for a good result against Iran. Just avoid defeat and we should be good.
     
  11. JoseEmidio

    JoseEmidio Member+

    Dec 6, 2009
    London
    Club:
    SL Benfica
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    Does not matter if they draw as we have more goals scored (4-3) they only have 1-0 and the chances of Iran - Spain finishing 3-3 in the second half is practically zero.

    So we just need a draw, unless Iran wins.
     
  12. FigoIsGod

    FigoIsGod Member

    Jan 16, 2005
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Of course we want them to tie. A Spain win by the narrowest margin means they go all out attack on Morocco to take 1st place. A tie means any win we get against Queiroz’s boys gives us 1st.

    Spain will still end up winning this game by 2 goals or so, IMO.
     
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  13. Bacalhau

    Bacalhau Member

    Jun 8, 2016
    Club:
    Sporting CP Lisbon
    Nice goal by Costa :rolleyes:
     
  14. JoseEmidio

    JoseEmidio Member+

    Dec 6, 2009
    London
    Club:
    SL Benfica
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    It is just not sure who I want to face, Rússia at Home or Uruguai if we get through, you?
     
  15. verde-rubro

    verde-rubro Member+

    C.S.Maritimo + Liverpool FC
    Portugal
    Jan 15, 2005
    LONDON
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    OMG whole match i was a bag of nerves the whole team plus subs were crap, only Patricio and a little for Ronaldo as he got the goal were Good

    and just finished watching Iran playing like Brazil with a full stadium of Iranian supporters
     
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  16. verde-rubro

    verde-rubro Member+

    C.S.Maritimo + Liverpool FC
    Portugal
    Jan 15, 2005
    LONDON
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    spain above us cos we have more yellow cards
     
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  17. NewLaw83

    NewLaw83 Member+

    Jun 3, 2015
    Boston, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    Just can't help but think how Portugal would have been today if they had Renato Sanches and in-form like he was in the Euros. This midfield misses his physical prowess as everyone minus William was getting pushed off the ball...
     
  18. trebaruna

    trebaruna Member

    Jun 13, 2017
    Los Angeles
    I understand all the worry, but the way Portugal is playing is just plain FS's style. He used to do the exact same thing with Greece, and enjoyed some success. Portugal got what they were after in just 4 minutes. After that it was clear they wanted nothing more with the game other than sit back and wait for the final whistle. Attacking is costly, pressing high is costly, and except for set pieces, Portugal never attacked with more than 3 players. Portugal never rushed forward because it never needed to, unlike Morocco. I know people were never during the game due to Morocco having more ball, but in reality they didn't create as many chances as may have sound. Had Portugal needed to pull a result, I am positive we would seen a very different game 2 or 3-0, but FS is in tournament mode and smarts matter as much as feet.

    upload_2018-6-20_13-17-33.png
     
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  19. nbstriker8

    nbstriker8 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 10, 2008
    new beige
    Club:
    SL Benfica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I thought that too. Unfortunately, he's nowhere near the level at he was at 2 years ago.
     
  20. NewLaw83

    NewLaw83 Member+

    Jun 3, 2015
    Boston, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    I dont know. I feel this was not what FS wanted to see. The midfield, other than WIlliam, did not seem too present helping out the defense which is what made Portugal great at the Euros. The whole team helped defensively on that championship run.
     
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  21. NewLaw83

    NewLaw83 Member+

    Jun 3, 2015
    Boston, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    Yeah which is SO unfortunate...
     
  22. dipluso

    dipluso Member+

    Jul 19, 2005
    CT
    Exactly this. In both games, Guedes ended up having to play as 2nd striker and as LM to protect the disastrous MF and LB.
    His shooting is still iffy but at least he's getting in scoring positions. And he's working to help out on defense.
    Bernardo Silva on the other hand is not contributing at all. He was completely 100% absence in Spain game and today was even worse spraying poor passes or losing the ball on dribbles. His pass to Guedes in the 1st half that was 10 feet short and directly out was the most embarrassing moment of the game besides Pepe's "shoulder injury".
    Today was a bizarre day and I really don't see how Santos is going to magically repair the problem - and Iranians are no slouches as the game against Spain today showed. We are not out of the woods yet.
     
  23. portugamerifinn

    portugamerifinn Member+

    Feb 22, 2005
    Bay Area / London
    We all know Portugal was poor and was generally outplayed by Morocco, but the quality/danger of goal-scoring opportunities is what matters most and Portugal had what were easily the two most clear-cut scoring chances (Ronaldo goal and Guedes' saved shot). Balls bouncing around a congested box and falling to a central defender just aren't very good scoring opportunities:

     
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  24. trebaruna

    trebaruna Member

    Jun 13, 2017
    Los Angeles
    I hope he goes back to Benfica so that he can turn his life around, otherwise, in a few years he'll be found working construction jobs :(.
     
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  25. portugamerifinn

    portugamerifinn Member+

    Feb 22, 2005
    Bay Area / London
    This was honestly the first time in a while that Portugal's performance reminded me why Renato Sanches was so important in 2016. His ability to defend aggressively in the midfield, cover ground and then start the attack upon recovering the ball is something this team just doesn't appear to have at the moment (be it talent, tactics or form). William is essential, but he's more like a fifth defender in matches when Portugal's pinned back and lacks possession, and there's nobody next to him in the midfield who can really pressure the defense with the ball at his feet.
     
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