Portugal nearly had the same fate as Spain. Both teams similar in buildup. I don't understand the lineup decisions from Santos fielding two DMs, not necessary against Hungary but in the end the team was patient and got a big result. Portugal have the talent to play with anyone, I'm not a fan of the conservative style. Bernardo Silva just doesn't seem to work on this squad, he seems redundant with Bruno Fernandes there. I wonder if Santos rotates the squad as much as he did in Euro 2016.
If we finsih first probably Turkey, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark or Áustria-Ukraine If we finish second we get the winner of Group D which is most probably England (since they already beat Croatia). If we finish third we probably get Belgium or Netherlands
Bernardo usually has one great move a game for Portugal, today when he released Jota who should of passed to Ronaldo. Most of the time, he is just recycling the ball, very conservative, maybe taking on a player a copule of times in a game. He almost plays like a mostly defensive 8 on the wing.
No disrespect but no such thing as "Should of", it's "Should've" - sounds the same (Should have). Spent some time in 10th grade English to figure this out and just notice it!
Germany is destroying france right now despite losing the game They play similar trash tactics to us. Rabiot Kante is their version of William Danilo
Belgium would be difficult, England (if they are playing at Home) would also be tough...fancy Holland but it is almost always close. If we finish first then there is no excuse we should beat all those teams.
England at Wemblay would be more difficult than expected, they're overdue for a random win vs us in a competitive game and they have a great attack that would make life hell for our fullbacks with Foden/Sancho/Sterling, plus Pepe at 38 can't keep playing every 3/4 days at a high level. That game would be fast paced and intense.
Only France will be clear favorite against Portugal. Belgium would be tough as would Italy. England will fall to a real quality team especially once they leave their comfort zone of Wembley.
Okay so what do you guys think, start Sanches or have his energy and strength to come in at the 60th or 70th minute against tired legs. I am kind of torn.
Sanches has really grown playing in France but still loses the ball a bit in dangerous areas at times if you followed him at Lille. Against the top top teams like France/Germany that could be dangerous...Santos wouldn't do it. I think we should have tried that in the Nations League games vs France. I expect this vs Germany/France Neves-Danilo-Palhinha-William
2 deflections on that goal balance out the 2 deflected goals from ‘16. And now the football world is in harmony again
Ok was at work during the game and was just able to finish watching it. First thing I have to say was that the officiating was inconsistent in this game. Some no calls and some calls that should not have been fouls. I thought we were lucky on that PK as that didnt look like a foul to me. Also, the 3rd Ronaldo goal was not offsides. #21 kept Ronaldo on you can see it clearly on replay. Overall, I thought the team played ok considering it was the first game as well being played in Hungary in front of a sold out crowd. Passes were not crisp but I felt the team was trying to figure themselves out. I didn't hate how Jota played. I liked his decision to try for goal instead of passing it to Ronaldo. We need to see other players gain confidence and get goals. He just didnt have luck on his side today. Unlike Morata of Spain, we know he can score. Also, he was playing out of his natural position. He should be playing from the left wing not CF/striker. That should have been Ronaldo playing there. If Ronaldo is playing out wide the Andre Silva should be the one playing CF/striker. Hahaha I literally thought this when that goal went in! Karma for 2016 even though being in 3rd place gave us the easier side of the bracket in that tournament. I didnt hate the starting line up except for Jota at CF/striker. I wish FS played Bruno in the middle instead of the right. Like what @Area 51 said, you can tell they missed Cancelo today. I think he would have helped open stuff up tremendously for Portugal against a team like Hungary. Semedo did ok but he was not big threat. Glad we won though. I was so nervous that Portugal were going to slip up today. Força Portugal!
Is that supposed to be impressive? What next Rashford? These players are overrated english trash. We would annihilate those jokers. They didnt even look impressive against a washed up Croatia
Wasn't a fan of the starting Lineup today. A little too defensive for my liking... especially against a team like Hungary. No offense. The subs FS made were clutch though. Although I thought he made them late. But he got the job done and we scored 3, which is huge considering the result of the France/Germany game. I assume he'll use the same starting 11 against Germany. He'll have us playing a more counter attacking game Saturday
It was clear at half that 2 DM's was over kill and that nobody was playing in the middle of the field in the final third. After I screamed at the tv for 30 mins Santos finally put on players that were interested in the middle of the field and we got a fluke of redemption from 2016. After that goal the second was clearly coming because Hungary now had to play football instead of goalie and Karma is a bitch. Also we really missed Cancelo. It's unfortunate that Davies destroyed Semedo. Finally, It was great to see the stadium full booth sets of fans in full voice but how interesting that Portugal not only gets France in their group and Germany (in Germany) but the only 100% full stadium would be Hungary to give them a lift and the ref some dodgy decisions. Now we get a pissed off and near desperate Germany. Could be a good thing for us as they probably want a win and will push for a goal leaving us for the counter which I think works better for us with these players. We'll see.
I just hope they play Jota at wing and CR as striker this time around. Or put in Andre Silva in as striker instead of Jota.
It was frustrating that Portugal took so long to break through, but that was the biggest issue on the field. On another day Portugal's up a goal or two at the half and the match is straightforward and drama-free. I'd say that now more than ever it is important that Santos not be too defensive. In part because Portugal has so many good attacking options, but also because Pepe is showing his age and Semedo/Guerreiro have been know to struggle more when left on an island to defend dribblers 1v1 (which will happen moving forward and I'm already dreading Semedo* v. Mbappe). But that's also why Santos' decisions are a bit of a tightrope walk. Do you cover the back four with two giants and set your front four free to attack? Do you give your attack a better chance to keep the opponent on its heels by pairing just one more forward-thinking DM (i.e., not Danilo) with someone like Sanches? We all know what Santos prefers and I was fuming that he took so long to make changes last night (and that Rafa came on first and on the wing, where he never succeeds for Portugal). However, he deserves credit for getting Rafa out there first when many managers would do the "safe" thing and sub on the wunderkind Joao Felix. I absolutely think Santos needs to pull the trigger on subs earlier (and take advantage of the five subs + deep bench), but he's also the guy who made big lineup changes after group play five years ago that won a trophy. So I'll just complain about his timing the rest of the way rather than who he puts on. *Having now watched every Semedo performance since joining Wolves, I'd settle on his simply being an ordinary player. HOWEVER...I thought he was brilliant last night, especially in the first half. That was as good as I've seen him play, or at least as effectively aggressive as I've seen him defend. He has completely different challenges ahead of him, but last night he was top notch.
Never been happier to be wrong! Santos doing what Santos does, making us all sweat but ultimately coming through the game successfully. Rafa was an inspired substitution
I would give him more credit if he didn't put Silva on the wing for 10+ minutes before having him move more centrally. After the first few Silva touches (and subsequent giveaways, of which there 4 or 5 straight) I said out loud (to absolutely no one): "He never does anything on the wing, he has to be in the middle to run through channels and stretch the CBs."
I'm happy with William-Danilo pair for France (which was wrong for Hungary). France dominated Germany in the middle and we will need both of them there. Also, love you Bernardo Silva but you need to sit down. At his best, he's a lock in the XI, but he''s far from it at the moment. Question is, for whom? For France, I'm tempted to say Renato and go 4-4-2 with Jota and Ronaldo upfront, but then again, I've been attacking Santos for being too defensive against weaker teams, that I almost feel dirty suggesting it.