WCQ '14 Playoff: Portugal vs Sweden [R]

Let's be honest here... Portugal can beat any one when they want to, and lose to any one when they want to also...
I don't like their chances vs Sweden, granted I haven't seen Sweden in a couple of years. If you can't beat Israel a home or even away... You are not a quality team. It's a shame a team with so much creativity, speed, and one of the best players in the world can't play great all the time. They don't even use C.Ronaldo like Real or Man U did. It's like he's there wasting time, instead of creating on the wing and at times put him in middle for goals... Simple as that, look for your best player on the field = C.Ronaldo. Use him like you did with Figo and you will win 90% of the time.
Prediction... If Portugal doesn't win the first game "At Home" It's over, so we all know Sweden will try and go for a draw. I want Portugal to go 100% offence and blow them out of the water 4 - 1... Of course that most likely won't happen unless they are down by 1 in game 2. They always wait till the last 10 minutes to use their skill God gave them.

At least if we don't make it, we don't get to cry like every damn tournament, so close for nothing. And Euro 2016... Will be easy to qualify top 2 advance

Good Luck Portugal!

 

This.

Ibracadabra is always a problem but frankly we dealt with him fine last time we met. In fact, I can't think of a single striker (Dzeko, Van Persie, etc, etc) that's given us real problems in the last few years. The bigger problems are (a) set-pieces, (b) horrendous poor or unlucky finishing and (c) occasionally bad switches on D in the wings (due to very attacked minded wingers).
But it's heartening to hear Sweden's defense is bad. Let's hope we can finally put more than 1/20 chances away.
The roof in Sweden in an interesting issue... curious to see how they use that for home field advantage.

 

--Z-- Gooddead had a good burn there... (Montero)...

What a see from the 1-2 result is lots of missed opportunities for SPorting when playing 11-10 and both of our last 2 NT keepers giving up soft goals on long range shots... :-(

 

I'l

I'll post my reply hear regarding Swedens bad defense as well:

Our defense could be better yes but you can't really expect more when a team of our capacity plays offensive football. Also, we are not that bad. We let in a total of 4 goals in 4 matches against Ireland and Austria which are pretty good teams, we didn't take any goals against Kazakhstan etc. That's not a bad record.

Germany was a different story defensively but scoring 7 goals in 2 matches against Die Mannschaft and getting 1 point in the away game is pretty impressive considering Zlatan did not even play the second one. Further more this team has a history of playing really well against better ranked teams. Last time we needed to win a game to qualify we beat Holland 3-2 at a time when they where ranked 2nd in the world. We beat France easily in the Euro and played pretty good against England. Later last year we tied Germany and won against England 4-2. If you go back even further the patern is the same. In my opinion we play better games against higher ranked teams than we do teams ranked slightly lower than us or at the same level. I'm optimistic, the team and Zlatan in particular is always at their best when they are faced with a challenge nobody expect them manage, also we get to start with the away game which is definitely in our favor.

I'm not saying we'll win this but i would give us upwards of a 45/55 chance to Portugal's advantage

Also, this guy has the capacity to win games on his own even when the rest of the team is having an off night : (his 4th of the game)

 

Never really thought about that. We have been able to shut down quite a few renowned strikers.. The only one's that come to mind are Villa and Klose. Mind you they're dangerous for any team. Love Klose, hate playing against his head.

Is this the answer really? Have everyone on our team seek out CR7? I don't think it is. CR7 usually takes a backseat when he's playing for the NT and I think that's best...? Right?

 

They don't use Ronaldo like Madrid and ManU because Portugal isn't fast enough to keep up with him. We have to slow it down for him.

Which is why I can't wait until Bruma develops enough that we can't keep him off the field. We need to add speed overall to the midfield. Hopefully Carvalho or Josue can add that.

 

I think this is the real issue of our NT. It is true that we lack quality in several positions, but that was also the case of some previous teams we had. However, since we lost Deco we were never the same team. Our ability to create organized offensive plays has dropped significantly and our main strength has been on playing through the wings, with the help of the SB. The problem is in my opinion the lack of a great number 10, capable of connecting the defensive and attacking sides.

Facing Sweden now really leaves me concerned. It reminds me of Denmark from Euro 2012 and see how tough it was to beat them in a single match. I sincerely hope that they are not as good at defending as the Danes were.

 

Sweden is a tough opponent. They typically play well against Europe's finest. That being said, Portugal can beat anyone when they decide to show up and play ball. The problem is that we don't know which Portuguese team will show up. They are way too inconsistent. My gut is that Sweden is going to be shocked at how well organized and focused our players will be in this playoff. I ruled them out in the last EURO and the team was very well organized and pressed harder than I could imagine. I could be wrong again, but I think they are going to play with blood in their mouths in a do or die situation.

 

Unfortunately, that is to be expected and nothing shocking. Portugal can come up with some crap results throughout a qualifying campaign but in a do or die match, I think it's safe to say that they will be highly focused and motivated. Portugal has been in this situation before and they always pull through. Taking that into consideration, its a nightmare matchup for Sweden.

 

I'm not worried about the players. They are professionals, know how to get it done when necessary, and contrary to what a lot of pessimists on here think, are a solid group of players, except for a striker of course. Despite that, we also have Cristiano Ronaldo. Frankly, I'd rather have him than exchange him for a "good" winger and a good "striker".

My problem lies in Bento. I used to give him credit because of the 2012 run but the more I look at it, I'm thinking he just isn't good. If you, as a manager of a squad like this, can't get them to qualify directly, then therein lies the issue. His refusal to use Danny is one of my biggest gripes. And when he sparingly does use him, it's out of position. The guy is too talented not to be worked in somehow. Then there's the oversight of Manuel Fernandes which is absolutely ridiculous. I know many won't agree, but I think Meireles is our weakest link. There are games when I really like him, but those are few and far between. At Euro 2012, the were so many times when he could have played the ball to a teammate in a better position and went for a shot, and my god, was his shooting absolute shite in that tournament.

I think a 4-2-1-3 would work absolute wonders

A back of 4 of JP, Pepe, Neto, Coentrao
MF and Moutinho playing midfield, with MF a little more defensive
Danny as the playmaker
And a front three of Ronaldo, Bruma, and Nani

This is perfect for nice counter-attacking play, which we can easily do with our quick players. I honestly think we would destroy if we played like that. But that is a dream I fear I shall never see.

 

FIFA 13 or FIFA 14? FIFA 14, is it worth buying?

 

Is it Daniel Candeias? I think Gonçalo Santos deserves a shoot but a player from Estoril would never get a look.

 

So how do we feel about Ibra scoring 4 goals yesterday?

 

I feel like Anderlecht should of done a better job parking the bus

 

Well, not only do Anderlecht suck massive balls (even Benfica schooled them this year), he won't have the likes of Cavani, etc. around him. So, meh.