Our fans with false narratives is sad. I won’t comment on things more recently, but in Euro 2016, the team (us) with the most shots on target and shot attempts of all 32 teams in the group stage did not turtle, they had bad luck.
Thats cause our group stage was easy af. Austria Hungary Iceland. Whenever we play real teams we barely create a single chance This time our group has an elite team, a very good team and an easy team. However, we got screwed hard for this euro. Not only is our group the hardest by far, but we also have to play in Germany and Hungary's stadium. It will be crazy hard to get out of this group
That’s fair. In my opinion, in 2016 we only fully bunkered twice, and indeed they were the best teams we played, the two finalists in the following World Cup, Croatia and France. Against Croatia, who had just beaten Spain to take their group and elevate themselves amongst tournament favourites, they themselves took the same approach as there wasn’t a shot on target for either team in 90. Against France, after losing the greatest player in our history, playing the host at home in a final, we bunkered. Probably were better than them after the 70 minute mark or so. I still say without approaching both of those games as we did, we wouldn’t have the trophy at home.
Unfortunately, from what I've seen and read over the years, a large percentage of Portuguese people seem to have a inability to learn or adjust their beliefs and would rather be overly dramatic though maybe subconsciously. We lost to Cape Verde 3-1 prior to Euro 16 ffs. The only things I personally got from this match: 1 Ronaldo continues to look his age, especially for Portugal. 2 Semedo is miles behind Cancelo, so let's hope he stays healthy. 3 S. Oliveira doesn't belong on this team. Even though I already knew 2 and 3, but was hoping for a better performance from both of them. I'm sure many of us can't accept what we are seeing from Ronaldo, but its abundantly clear his touches are off now and his timing and reactions are clearly not as sharp as they were just 2 years ago.
Portugal lost 2-0 to Cape Verde in March 2015, not right before Euro 2016. CV scored on a cross that floated over Lopes directly into goal and on a FK, plus Portugal played the final 30 minutes down a man. It was essentially a back-up squad because Portugal played Serbia in a Euro qualifier just two days prior. The back four included Andre Pinto (red carded), Paolo Oliveira and Vitorino Antunes, Vieirinha started as a winger, and Hugo Almeida started at striker (in 2015?!). Subs included Andre Andre, Andre Almeida and Ukra. Nothing about that match was anything remotely like playing Spain 11 days before a tournament opener w/ Ronaldo playing the full 90 and fielding a legitimate tournament 11 (save for the guys who hadn't arrived yet). Friendlies don't matter much, but as part of a larger sample size of recent poor performances they shouldn't be too easily brushed aside. Portugal has been BAD for at least half of its last four matches and if not for a Morata master class would've deservedly lost by a few goals.
You're right about the Cape Verde match, and ofcourse context matters. I went off the top of my head and just remember it being prior to euro 16 and losing by 2. I do remember it being sort of a C team with some regulars there like J.Mario, J.Moutinho and Andre Gomes. However, even if you dismiss that game and only use the friendly window in the 2 weeks prior to the tournament and use successful tournaments as an example, you will find my point stands. If you really like, I could do some research to prove my point, but just off the top of my head, didn't we lose to Turkey 3-1 just before making the semis of Euro 12? Didn't We have a draw against Moldova 0-0 just prior to a decent WC, or was it Euro? I'm pretty sure just before making the semis of WC 06 we lost to mother fu$%ing Finland 4-1. It's time consuming, but if you look into it I'm sure you'll find more so so or bad friendlies than you will good ones just before the tournament. I remember destroying Ireland 5-1 prior to WC 14, so maybe good friendlies are a curse. Bottom line, I will always believe people generally have a bad habit of over analyzing friendlies, and I need to accept it will probably always be that way.
It's not over analyzing friendlies when its a pattern of play that stretches back months. Our first 3 qualifiers for the World Cup were shocking as well. We look like we have no strategy, no tactics once we get the ball, and our players have no cohesion in possession and quality movement/passing. The Spain friendly was a mere continuation of that, and with the players we now possess the quality if play is almost criminal.
I think there’s a middle ground between over analyzing and not caring. I take your point about how we didn’t look great, but we were playing Semedo instead of Cancelo, Oliveira and Danilo in midfield and no Ruben Dias. We didn’t get beat which is the main thing in international football
Yeah, I agree that pre-tournament warmup friendlies are not always accurate barometers for success at the ensuing tournament. We only have to go back to 2018 when Portugal played a very attractive, attacking style against the likes of Tunisia and Algeria, but a couple weeks later were back to hoping Ronaldo would score and then hanging on for dear life vs. Morocco and Iran. I'm just concerned by the Spain match because Portugal fielded a strong 11, played Ronaldo 90 minutes (why?!) and continued a stretch of really inconsistent, frequently uninspired play that includes World Cup qualifiers. I would be less concerned if Portugal was in a straightforward group, but it can only guarantee advancement from group play by finishing ahead of France and/or Germany. And it starts the tournament by playing a capable host in a packed stadium, and that's an absolute must-win match. There simply is zero room for error, yet Portugal hasn't played a complete match since beating Sweden last October. It's just concern, which I feel is warranted.
It's true, Portugal did not lose the match. That said, do any of us really believe that if Germany or France has all the exact same chances (just the shots taken) as Spain they'll end the match without a goal? Spain wasn't missing tap-ins, but they did miss a number of decent (or better) chances that they failed to even get on goal. The shutout was more of a happy coincidence than something to hang our hats on. Portugal hasn't beaten Germany since 2000 (or even come close to doing so) and has one win over France since 1975. We also played France twice in the fall without ever seeming much of a threat to actually score. In fact, I'm pretty sure Portugal didn't break 1.0 expected goals across two matches combined. Portugal hasn't won a tournament opener since Euro 2008 and will start Euro 2020 facing a host in a must-win match. How am I supposed to feel good about that with the way Portugal is playing?
Understandable and I can appreciate your points. My main concern is that here in England people are actually tipping us to do well this time and we are often mentioned as the favourites along with France. In 2016 nobody really thought we had a chance and I was telling all my friends that we were going to win. Now the expectation is there I can see us miserably failing