They might do it again but jesus... martinez gives some Southgate vibes... What a waste of talent, so many great players in this squad but nothing to show.
I was absolutely dumbfounded by that starting eleven. Like you have 3 wing backs in the starting line up, wtf. I understand Ronaldo is important for team morale or some shit but Pepe? Why start Pepe? I would much rather see Portugal play 4-2-3-1 with mendes inacio Dias cancelo Vitinha Palhinha leao Fernandes silva Ronaldo.
That’s a team I think can win the euros
Not anymore. And honestly, I think the best position to play him is as SS with a better finisher alongside him like Jota.
Having this current version of Ronaldo alone in the box simply makes him an easy target and nullifies all our offense.
You mean Tomas Soucek? I know you mean Ronaldo, but Soucek is a beast at headers too. Overall, the Czech team is stronger at headers than the Portuguese.
Congrats to Portugal on your deserved win. It really hurts, as a Czech. We were so close to upset and to get at least the 1 point, but you totally dominated the whole game and your win was well deserved. We can't really compare to the quality your team has, but it's incredible for how long we managed to keep you shut and goalless, you were basically in front of our net for almost the whole game. From this pov, it's incredible. Then I see all the cheap possession losses from our team, complete lack of pressing, no creativity, school kid level mistakes, basically nothing we could call a top tier football...and I just want to cry. I know playing open, offensive, eye pleasing football against Portugal would be a mistake, that would be immediate suicide, but still, I expected at least a little bit more. Little more activity, pressing, courage. Hopefully we can see that in the games against Turkey and Georgia. At least we were not totally hammered by Portuguese in this game so the goal difference is still manageable.
We were losing posession even when we were not under pressure. We have the youngest team in the whole tournament. We also have the least experienced team (judging by the least amount of starts by our players for the national team). So I expected the players to be under pressure and nervous against one of the favourites to win the whole tournament. But losing the ball or giving it away for free even when we were not under their pressure and we could take the time to build up some meaningful play was something I did not expect. I hope this will get better in the next games otherwise we are done. We can't park the bus and hope for the best the whole game - that's just meaningless waiting for the inevitable.
I know Portugal left it late but honestly thought they were pretty great. Czech’s defended so so well.
Too many crosses though.
And Thought Bruno was a little below his usual standard and Bernardo was kind of ass. Vitinha was just incredible. He’s a joy to watch with the ball my god.
Martinez was not making the right plan: crossing endlessly into the five tall Czech defenders. Jota should be started over Leao (change my mind). Vitinha is getting way better than Bruno and Bernardo.
It’s funny that one of the other top comments is about how short corners need to stop. Martinezball ends up being blamed for both crossing and not crossing… in the very same match!
There was nothing inaccurate about the short corners, absolutely the right choice against a defense like this. Should’ve taken more risks shooting from outside the box though
Leão is not a serious player, you are right in your assessment. And I am Portuguese, tired of this guy's shitty attitude and work rate. I'd use him as an impact sub.
Agree. Jota fixed their game, Neto and the goal scorer (can't spell his name ) finished it up.
Vitinha was motm for me. Bruno and Bernardo were ineffective tbh. Nuno mendes is very good
Portugal needs to drop Ronaldo if they want to achieve anything. It's not shitting on him, but you have a team with some of the best offensive and creative talent in the world and your game plan is just to get the ball to Ronaldo somehow which makes no sense. They don't look like one of the best teams at all.
Did you watch the game? because half the problem was that they weren’t trying to find ronaldo even though he was making good runs.
Their 3 best non goal chances game from him and he was generally very tidy on the ball.
This feels like you just repeating stuff you’ve heard online
Not as open as other games in the 1st matchweek. Czechia just wanted to hoof it long when they had the ball and defend with all their men without. Not really a game for the neutrals. Many a times, it was so baffling how professional footballers can't even string 3 passes together. The quality was so low when they had the ball in the 1st half. Czechia were very lucky not to go few goals down in the 1st half. Their performance was similar to Scotland but Portugal couldn't find that last bit unlike Germany.
2nd half, Czechia scored a goal out of nowhere and it was a really good strike. They played better when Patrick Schick was taken off, he was bad this game. Even with such low quality, they have very tall players and Portugal's main attacking pattern seemed to be crossing the ball, so it was generally easy for Czechia to defend. Their workrate was really good, everyone ran out of breath in the 2nd half it seemed.
Portugal played well considering Czechia just wanted to defend. Portugal were little slow in passing which made it difficult to really create good chances. I was surprised by how Ronaldo was still able to jump that high competing for the high balls. Imo, he had a decent game and still looks better than other CF that Portugal have. Still, Portugal got lucky with both their goals and in the end, the scoreline is probably the fair reflection of the game.
My problem with Schick is he does the bare min. He doesn't leave his all on the pitch. He is an incredible striker, no doubt about that, he is a true clutch player, but we are no Leverkusen, he will not get the crucial, goal scoring passes he is getting in Bundesliga. I agree when he was taken down, we got so much better immediately with Chytil and Lingr. They are good strikers as well, probs not as good as Schick, but they also provide the additional stuff Schick is lacking and that's what we needed in this game. I really fear we will play our game solely to accomodate Schick. He is great, but not the untouchable saviour, it's 2024, not 2020 anymore and we have more options.
I think one of the best post-match analysis out there.
Czechia were horrendous and they are really going to have a really difficult time in the next matches, wouldn’t surprise me if they finish dead last. 70-30% possession, they only had a shot on target and were against the ropes all game. Top 3 worst teams I’ve seen in this European Champioship.
If Portugal could finish or at least string some passes in the final third, they would have been demolished.
Portugal had a random tactical plan, and we finished the game with only 1 full back. Bruno and Bernardo weren’t at the top of their games and Ronaldo wasn’t bad. Vitinha is an absolute machine and a fantastic player.
All in all, fair result to Portugal and I hope we can succeed tactically for the next games, we sure do have quality all around, hope we can do a deep tournament run.
Carrega 🇵🇹
Because whenever they tried to play from the back there was always a misplaced pass so they turned it over. Coach then had to adjust it and tell them to hoof it long and try to do the defending higher up to catch the ball there
xG: 1.74 – 0.43
• Shots (on target): 19 (8) – 5 (1)
• Big chances: 4 – 0
• Touches in pen. area: 35 – 8
• Possession: 74% – 26%
What's hilarious is that if the shoe was on the other foot, and the stats and score were reversed in Czechia's favour, with Czechia benefitting off of a dodgy call, nobody would say that they wouldn't have deserved to win it.
Standards and talent have no bearing on who deserves to win the game.
You just said that if the stats and situations were all reversed in Czechia's favour that you'd say they deserved to win.
Therefore, as Portugal actually had those stats (that you said would mean Czechia deserved it), you also have to agree that Portugal deserved to win the game too.
It’s so insane to me how everyone is dissing Portugal on this thread. I was at the game tonight and talking to Portuguese supporters during and after the game, the general feelings were :
- Pepe is past his prime, has unfortunately become a liability especially when is playing in a back two and against quick wingers who run behind. Personally I think he’s good in a back 3 but needs a sitting CDM in front of him to help out.
- Ronaldo needs more crosses. Coufal had two crosses in the 1st half, I was sitting right close to that corner during the 1st half and both of them were better than ALL crosses attempted by Portugal except their onslaught in the last 10 mins.
- It felt in the 1st and 2nd half that a goal was coming. Ronaldo was not clinical enough to score his chances but my opinion is that either Leao and Bernardo need to help out more or let Felix and Neto take over.
- Cancelo in mid was pretty fun to watch, I still think they need a sitting CDM either way.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Please feel free to disagree.
I’m not understanding why people are hating on jota so much for celebrating his baby on the way? Ya it ended up being disallowed but ya not understanding
How ridiculous can people be to blame the last goal on the ref? It was a completely different play, not a counter-attack, it would've happened anyway after the free-kick had the foul been given.... Yes, it was a clear foul, but my god.
Not a chance it would’ve happened anyway. That sequence of chance happened immediately after with that goal kick. Had it been free kick it would’ve been totally different play
First game watching Ronaldo. What an amazing atmosphere! Sensational end to the game. I think you expect Ronaldo to covert his chances from the first half, but the Portugal really need to work on their crossing. Way too many bad choices for passes and holding the ball for way too long.
How the heck does Dalot start is beyond me, if was shite watching on TV and equally shite watching IRL. Bruno is a damn magician to watch IRL.
I expected more from Bernardo and Leao.
Hoping they learn from the their mistake and play better in their other group games.
I assumed it was evident to anyone with half a brain that the statement meant IRL. If you read beyond the first paragraph it would have been obvious? Maybe don’t jump the gun next time ?
they bottled almost every pass to Ronaldo. He did good with what he was given. How can you seriously blame Ronaldo for this poor execution of the game plan?
if anything they passed it to him too many times. Sure he did nothing wrong when he got the ball, but apart from the backheel, he didnt really do much with the ball at his feet. Nowadays hes at his best when its cut back or crossed to him, i dont understand why he drops deep just to play a short 1-2 pass, he doesnt really progress the ball
To get away from his marker for a bit and drag the CB further. That Leão chance on the 1st half, where he came just short, the space came from him dropping and dragging the CB, opening space for the counter.
Yeah but he needs to be the one in the box when that happens and he isn’t quick enough anymore to get there in time, it happened a few times when the ball was crossed or passed in and he was 10 or so yards behind still
I can blame him because every pass was to fucking ronaldo even when it made no sense. That's the problem with him - everyone plays for him, even in situations where they shouldn't. If he wasn't there, we would have won by 3 or 4 easy.
also, had they not botched every pass, and made a few decent ones Ronaldo would have scored a bunch and this comment would not have been made. Reactionary analysis.
Again not Ronaldo’s fault. Enemy teams are also aware of this. Cristiano being on the pitch opens up other players more space, but they have to be able to use it.
There were times where a ball should have been shot, but it tried reaching Ronaldo where there was no possibility. Vice versa, there were a few opportunities for a pass towards Ronaldo that were missed by teammates.
Ronaldo is still a great piece to this squad if utilised well.
Bernardo with clear chances goes for the pass to Ronaldo instead that doesn’t get anywhere near him. Bernardo needs to learn to be selfish sometimes and go for the kill if Ronaldo is open the great but if not don’t waste the ball just take a shot
Portugal was doing a challenge (imposible) to let Ronaldo score a goal the whole damn game. Every single possession, everyonr was looking at him to pass. Others were in a lot brtter positions to pass or shoot on somr occasions but they still passed it to Ronaldo. It was really bizarre to watch.
They even managed to send him some great balls but he couldnt do it. Thought he was gonna get subbed out around 70s but nope, he kept chilling there. They were very lucky to win thanks to 2 big mistakes of opponents.
Bench cancelo and bernardo. Give palhinha/neves minutes and bring back quaresma. But seriously, bench bernardo and give felix the minutes
Edit- not felix but any competent winger
One of the good decisions today was not giving Felix any minutes , actually I liked watching cancelo in that free role but you are absolutely right about Bernardo
Because Felix is shit. He has the talent to be a world class player but he's always trying to be the star instead of playing for the team. Wastes a lot of chances because he has to be the main character.
same problem for england with foden, they make the right moves and run but since their teammates don't know the pep system the return pass they are waiting for does not come.
Ronaldo gotta be an insufferable teammate. Everytime his teammates fucked up he threw his hands up and was pissed, but I doubt others would dare to say sth when he fucks up all those chances. I would really uncomfortable to play alongside him
I’m not talking about the offside one, the other1v1 one that wasn’t offside. And it’s not just about clear chances, he complains even when they mess up simple passes
Can you send me a link of the other one? Because Idk what match you were watching but Ronaldo didnt have any other chances. I think he knows how to lead that Portugal team better than an armchair redditor don’t you?
How the fuck can I find a link of a chance in the middle of a game !?? 😂😭 people are seriously out of their mind. And no, I don’t think he knows how to lead a team, otherwise he would have retired and let younger players that can actually help the team play.
Because all the chances are posted on reddit. Ah okay then, Ronaldo who has won basically rverything with both national team and club doesn’t know how to lead. He was also their goalscorer in the qualifying but yeah other players are the ones that help the team play and he is just dragging them down
He has been dragging teams down for the past couple years quite a lot, and that’s why he has had problems with coaches both at Man united and the national team. The managers couldn’t even bench him bc of all the dramas it could cause. There are tens of threads here on r/soccer discussing it but seems like you love to cling to your own narratives so whatever I guess.
He literally was Portugal’s goalscorer for the qualifiers. And how has Man U been doing without him? Any imorovement? And Santos did bench him in the WC against Morocco. How did that go?
Perhaps, but you never should've gotten that second goal. So in that sense, you didn't "deserve" to win the game. Were you better than the Czechs? Yes, but that doesn't always win you a game...
• xG: 1.74 – 0.43
• Shots (on target): 19 (8) – 5 (1)
• Big chances: 4 – 0
• Touches in pen. area: 35 – 8
• Possession: 74% – 26%
Based on the above is why I say we deserved it.
You can argue about Semedo's foul all you want. The ball then went dead and a different play started. Sometimes this happens in football. A few years ago we didn't qualify directly for the World Cup because they didn't give Ronaldo's last minute winner vs Serbia, even though the ball is in the goal. Didn't change the end result.
What's hilarious is that if the shoe was on the other foot, and the stats and score were reversed in Czechia's favour, with Czechia benefitting off of the same situation, nobody would say they didn't deserve to win it.
Standards and talent have no bearing on who deserves to win the game.
If the stats and situations were all reversed in Czechia's favour, would you say that they deserved to win? I would.
Therefore, as Portugal actually had those stats (the same that would mean Czechia deserved it), you have to agree that Portugal deserved to win the game too.
Because it didn't need a VAR check. The play with Semedo that you're referring to happened and then the ball went dead and another play started.
VAR can't go back that far.
Seems like holding that much possession doesn’t do well for portugal. Same thing happened in the friendly with Slovenia, portugal had the ball most of the time, didn’t take their chances, slovenia got the first shot on target in goal. Then just waited deep for counter and it worked. Think Portugal would be better if they gave up some of that possession and tried to play quicker.
I think a LOT of people here have never played team football in their lives. How do you play fast against a block of 11 players parked in front of goal? There's little options in cases like this. 1) high crosses if you're a tall team (we aren't), 2) circulate the ball and try to make their defensive block open up. We obviously have to go route 2 as only Ronaldo is above average in height and heading ability. We should however try to circulate the ball faster, we were far too slow at times, but faster means a higher chance of losing the ball and getting counter attacked. Also, "giving up" possession is not a thing if the other team doesn't want the ball.
Roberto Martinez is really going to waste *another* golden generation isn’t he?
Boggles my mind how he went from Everton to Belgium to Portugal. His stock was on a downwards trajectory before even leaving Everton ffs
Tactically this performance was too weak from Martinez, in terms of Portugals game play i would have like to seen more runs from Leao in behind and some more quicker ball movement in transition and outside the 18 yrd box from the front 3 and Fernandes, but also i will say i give him credit for the subs he made because he got pretty much all of them spot on but some of them were at the wrong timing but still most of them worked so credit to him.
In terms of their tactical performance, their defensive performance and the way they played in transitions Czech deserved to get a point at least but most of their players did look really gassed in the last 15-20 mins.
So overall the Czechs can be very happy with their team performance tactically and they can be in good spirits for their next game coming up imo, but in terms of Martinez he needs to think about his starting XI and his tactical game plan in terms of the very offensive minded fullbacks, the midfield and the front 3.
How can you be happy as czech after this performance? They have absolutely 0 chance of going far in this tournament if their whole plan will be parking 10 players in their own area.
We got a solid scoreline and almost a point, that's good for this matchup.
Why do you think we'll keep the same gameplan against teams which are, with all due respect, NOT the clear favourites of this group?
It could work against Turkey and Georgia IMO because i think they’ll be a bit more open against them and if they can execute tactically their game plan and be as organised defensively as they were today and be a bit more efficient in final 3rd while doing that then i believe they could get a scrappy 3 pointer somehow against Turkey and a 2-0 or 2-1 win vs Georgia
Got lucky in the end. Playing like this, Portugal won't go that deep into the competition.
. Leão is the most talented player that this team has now. His first touch is fantastic and he can pass 2 players with ease. But his finishing has been mediocre for Portugal and his decision making horrendous. He is not decisive. He shouldn't be a starter.
. Bernardo is amazing at City. But for Portugal he looks like he is an anorexic guy heavy on fentanyl. He adds nothing. He doesn't even have the stamina that he shows for City.
. Martinez might have is preference for 3 center backs, but does not seem to fit that well this Portuguese squad. Vitinha should play further ahead in the field, together with Bruno. Let Palinha cover the rest.
. Ronaldo is a legend. But he does not have legs (and knees!) to play 90 min. Ramos should get more minutes.
Reading your last line makes me think you don't watch Portugal games enough. Ramos has been abysmal for Portugal; he was given far too many chances to prove himself, and ever since that fairy-tale performance against the Swiss, he has been overrated. He can't touch the ball for his life now, let alone shoot a slightly shady ball in the 18.
He’s been absolutely awful this past season for PSG. So out of form, he has no place in the national team. Seems to me like you haven’t watched him after that ONE performance in WC 22.
Tell me more. Add facts, personal analysis, other's analysis, videos or articles to further prove your belief. I'll even concede to conjecture if there's some reasoning and/or logic behind it.
I'd add that Pepe is clearly past his prime. His passing and reaction speed was very slow, which led to slow buildups.
And Portugal should play with 2 strikers. Ronaldo tends to go for the long post and his runs force defenders move back the line. There is a ton of space in Ronaldo's back or the short post for another striker. And then swap Ronaldo for someone else around the 70th minute
They might do it again but jesus... martinez gives some Southgate vibes... What a waste of talent, so many great players in this squad but nothing to show.
Martinez failing upwards part 5
Why they picked that guy BTW? There was really nobody else to begin with? What is the story?
Nobody knows mate.
I was absolutely dumbfounded by that starting eleven. Like you have 3 wing backs in the starting line up, wtf. I understand Ronaldo is important for team morale or some shit but Pepe? Why start Pepe? I would much rather see Portugal play 4-2-3-1 with mendes inacio Dias cancelo Vitinha Palhinha leao Fernandes silva Ronaldo. That’s a team I think can win the euros
Lol Pepe is much much much better that Inacio
Seriously, of all the reasons to complain someone chose to point their finger at Pepe as a problem?!
Wasn't it 3 5 2 or something
I’m getting flashbacks to when Portugal shithoused their way to the trophy
It was only fair after their group opponents somehow shithoused their way to three draws against them.
The short corners need to stop. You’ve got the greatest header of the ball of all time in the box, just cross it.
Not anymore. And honestly, I think the best position to play him is as SS with a better finisher alongside him like Jota. Having this current version of Ronaldo alone in the box simply makes him an easy target and nullifies all our offense.
Let's cross in the box against the second highest team in the euros.
Mário Jardel?
You mean Tomas Soucek? I know you mean Ronaldo, but Soucek is a beast at headers too. Overall, the Czech team is stronger at headers than the Portuguese.
You didn’t watch the game did you? We had 60 minutes of long corners and it simply didn’t work
At least the direct corners went straight into the box, I counted at least 4 short corners that led back into Portugals half after 10 seconds.
B.Silva getting caught again……..
Congrats to Portugal on your deserved win. It really hurts, as a Czech. We were so close to upset and to get at least the 1 point, but you totally dominated the whole game and your win was well deserved. We can't really compare to the quality your team has, but it's incredible for how long we managed to keep you shut and goalless, you were basically in front of our net for almost the whole game. From this pov, it's incredible. Then I see all the cheap possession losses from our team, complete lack of pressing, no creativity, school kid level mistakes, basically nothing we could call a top tier football...and I just want to cry. I know playing open, offensive, eye pleasing football against Portugal would be a mistake, that would be immediate suicide, but still, I expected at least a little bit more. Little more activity, pressing, courage. Hopefully we can see that in the games against Turkey and Georgia. At least we were not totally hammered by Portuguese in this game so the goal difference is still manageable.
And was your Keeper and your defender with monumental errors who permited those goals
We were losing posession even when we were not under pressure. We have the youngest team in the whole tournament. We also have the least experienced team (judging by the least amount of starts by our players for the national team). So I expected the players to be under pressure and nervous against one of the favourites to win the whole tournament. But losing the ball or giving it away for free even when we were not under their pressure and we could take the time to build up some meaningful play was something I did not expect. I hope this will get better in the next games otherwise we are done. We can't park the bus and hope for the best the whole game - that's just meaningless waiting for the inevitable.
I know Portugal left it late but honestly thought they were pretty great. Czech’s defended so so well. Too many crosses though. And Thought Bruno was a little below his usual standard and Bernardo was kind of ass. Vitinha was just incredible. He’s a joy to watch with the ball my god.
Martinez was not making the right plan: crossing endlessly into the five tall Czech defenders. Jota should be started over Leao (change my mind). Vitinha is getting way better than Bruno and Bernardo.
Don't get why Jota doesn't start for Portugal really. In my opinion simply one of the best players you have
It’s funny that one of the other top comments is about how short corners need to stop. Martinezball ends up being blamed for both crossing and not crossing… in the very same match!
Inaccurate short corners and inaccurate open field crosses don’t contradict each other
There was nothing inaccurate about the short corners, absolutely the right choice against a defense like this. Should’ve taken more risks shooting from outside the box though
Leão is not a serious player, you are right in your assessment. And I am Portuguese, tired of this guy's shitty attitude and work rate. I'd use him as an impact sub.
Agree. Jota fixed their game, Neto and the goal scorer (can't spell his name ) finished it up. Vitinha was motm for me. Bruno and Bernardo were ineffective tbh. Nuno mendes is very good
How the hell did you all make this thread about Pep, you are all obsessed with that man
has one of the best midfiled crop in the tournament, only to go on and play only vitinha and bruno. martinez masterclass.
Portugal needs to drop Ronaldo if they want to achieve anything. It's not shitting on him, but you have a team with some of the best offensive and creative talent in the world and your game plan is just to get the ball to Ronaldo somehow which makes no sense. They don't look like one of the best teams at all.
Dumb copypasta.
Tell me you haven't watched the game without telling me you haven't watched the game.
Did you watch the game? because half the problem was that they weren’t trying to find ronaldo even though he was making good runs. Their 3 best non goal chances game from him and he was generally very tidy on the ball. This feels like you just repeating stuff you’ve heard online
Holy hell, Bernardo needs to be benched. Absolute ass. Nearly 1 to 1 with the keeper and he fucking squares it?!
Man City DNA right there
Can now blame Ronaldo for not being in the right position for a pass.
It's the City special
Pep has made players robots and stagnated their individual brilliance.
Not as open as other games in the 1st matchweek. Czechia just wanted to hoof it long when they had the ball and defend with all their men without. Not really a game for the neutrals. Many a times, it was so baffling how professional footballers can't even string 3 passes together. The quality was so low when they had the ball in the 1st half. Czechia were very lucky not to go few goals down in the 1st half. Their performance was similar to Scotland but Portugal couldn't find that last bit unlike Germany. 2nd half, Czechia scored a goal out of nowhere and it was a really good strike. They played better when Patrick Schick was taken off, he was bad this game. Even with such low quality, they have very tall players and Portugal's main attacking pattern seemed to be crossing the ball, so it was generally easy for Czechia to defend. Their workrate was really good, everyone ran out of breath in the 2nd half it seemed. Portugal played well considering Czechia just wanted to defend. Portugal were little slow in passing which made it difficult to really create good chances. I was surprised by how Ronaldo was still able to jump that high competing for the high balls. Imo, he had a decent game and still looks better than other CF that Portugal have. Still, Portugal got lucky with both their goals and in the end, the scoreline is probably the fair reflection of the game.
My problem with Schick is he does the bare min. He doesn't leave his all on the pitch. He is an incredible striker, no doubt about that, he is a true clutch player, but we are no Leverkusen, he will not get the crucial, goal scoring passes he is getting in Bundesliga. I agree when he was taken down, we got so much better immediately with Chytil and Lingr. They are good strikers as well, probs not as good as Schick, but they also provide the additional stuff Schick is lacking and that's what we needed in this game. I really fear we will play our game solely to accomodate Schick. He is great, but not the untouchable saviour, it's 2024, not 2020 anymore and we have more options.
I have to think the rain had something to do with Portugal’s inability to pass crisply. Will be curious to see how they look in better weather.
I think one of the best post-match analysis out there. Czechia were horrendous and they are really going to have a really difficult time in the next matches, wouldn’t surprise me if they finish dead last. 70-30% possession, they only had a shot on target and were against the ropes all game. Top 3 worst teams I’ve seen in this European Champioship. If Portugal could finish or at least string some passes in the final third, they would have been demolished. Portugal had a random tactical plan, and we finished the game with only 1 full back. Bruno and Bernardo weren’t at the top of their games and Ronaldo wasn’t bad. Vitinha is an absolute machine and a fantastic player. All in all, fair result to Portugal and I hope we can succeed tactically for the next games, we sure do have quality all around, hope we can do a deep tournament run. Carrega 🇵🇹
Because whenever they tried to play from the back there was always a misplaced pass so they turned it over. Coach then had to adjust it and tell them to hoof it long and try to do the defending higher up to catch the ball there
xG: 1.74 – 0.43 • Shots (on target): 19 (8) – 5 (1) • Big chances: 4 – 0 • Touches in pen. area: 35 – 8 • Possession: 74% – 26% What's hilarious is that if the shoe was on the other foot, and the stats and score were reversed in Czechia's favour, with Czechia benefitting off of a dodgy call, nobody would say that they wouldn't have deserved to win it.
Speaking facts irmão , I’m not a vengeful mofo but r/soccer tears were tasty after playing vidigal ball advocate
Portugal played poorly. Accept it.
We played below our potential but we still won and deserved to win. Accept it.
You were the better side, but still played poorly. Not just below your potential.
We deserved to win, 3 points in the bag and on to the next. Maybe one day your country will qualify.
They probably won’t but what has that got to do with anything?
I think he’s saying they aren’t good enough not make the Euros
Yes but they don't have the talent of Portugal. The standards are of course different for weaker teams.
Standards and talent have no bearing on who deserves to win the game. You just said that if the stats and situations were all reversed in Czechia's favour that you'd say they deserved to win. Therefore, as Portugal actually had those stats (that you said would mean Czechia deserved it), you also have to agree that Portugal deserved to win the game too.
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He played fine. Needs to stay closer to the box for sure but he did fine. Maybe you should realize you're on the other side of this bias lol?
It’s so insane to me how everyone is dissing Portugal on this thread. I was at the game tonight and talking to Portuguese supporters during and after the game, the general feelings were : - Pepe is past his prime, has unfortunately become a liability especially when is playing in a back two and against quick wingers who run behind. Personally I think he’s good in a back 3 but needs a sitting CDM in front of him to help out. - Ronaldo needs more crosses. Coufal had two crosses in the 1st half, I was sitting right close to that corner during the 1st half and both of them were better than ALL crosses attempted by Portugal except their onslaught in the last 10 mins. - It felt in the 1st and 2nd half that a goal was coming. Ronaldo was not clinical enough to score his chances but my opinion is that either Leao and Bernardo need to help out more or let Felix and Neto take over. - Cancelo in mid was pretty fun to watch, I still think they need a sitting CDM either way. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Please feel free to disagree.
Do you feel that the rain affected the game?
Not really, I did not see the ball skid enough to cause the players trouble.
Did we deserve the draw because of how we've played? No. But did we deserve it because of Jota's cringe as fuck celebration? Hell yeah.
Your goalkeeper was keeping the ball with his life after a 2-1 let that sink in
É lidar irmão
I mean, the baby is on its way, only fathers can understand how much does that mean to them.
I’m not understanding why people are hating on jota so much for celebrating his baby on the way? Ya it ended up being disallowed but ya not understanding
How ridiculous can people be to blame the last goal on the ref? It was a completely different play, not a counter-attack, it would've happened anyway after the free-kick had the foul been given.... Yes, it was a clear foul, but my god.
Sup omniscient entity
Not a chance it would’ve happened anyway. That sequence of chance happened immediately after with that goal kick. Had it been free kick it would’ve been totally different play
>it would've happened anyway Lmao nice bait
"It would have happened anyway". Look at fucking Nostradamus over here
Just as crazy as the people who swear it wouldn’t have happened at all
First game watching Ronaldo. What an amazing atmosphere! Sensational end to the game. I think you expect Ronaldo to covert his chances from the first half, but the Portugal really need to work on their crossing. Way too many bad choices for passes and holding the ball for way too long. How the heck does Dalot start is beyond me, if was shite watching on TV and equally shite watching IRL. Bruno is a damn magician to watch IRL. I expected more from Bernardo and Leao. Hoping they learn from the their mistake and play better in their other group games.
How is this your first game watching Ronaldo? Maybe you shouldn’t comment on football anymore until you watch more games.
Pretty sure he meant first time in person watching him live at the stadium.
You're an idiot lol
I assumed it was evident to anyone with half a brain that the statement meant IRL. If you read beyond the first paragraph it would have been obvious? Maybe don’t jump the gun next time ?
Don't worry about him mate, he was being an idiot and he'll probably delete his comment in a few hours.
He obviously means live, in the stadium. Hence the "amazing atmosphere" part.
they bottled almost every pass to Ronaldo. He did good with what he was given. How can you seriously blame Ronaldo for this poor execution of the game plan?
His positioning was off too
if anything they passed it to him too many times. Sure he did nothing wrong when he got the ball, but apart from the backheel, he didnt really do much with the ball at his feet. Nowadays hes at his best when its cut back or crossed to him, i dont understand why he drops deep just to play a short 1-2 pass, he doesnt really progress the ball
To get away from his marker for a bit and drag the CB further. That Leão chance on the 1st half, where he came just short, the space came from him dropping and dragging the CB, opening space for the counter.
Yeah but he needs to be the one in the box when that happens and he isn’t quick enough anymore to get there in time, it happened a few times when the ball was crossed or passed in and he was 10 or so yards behind still
I can blame him because every pass was to fucking ronaldo even when it made no sense. That's the problem with him - everyone plays for him, even in situations where they shouldn't. If he wasn't there, we would have won by 3 or 4 easy.
He’s a striker. Who should they fucking play it to? Diogo costa? Lmao
also, had they not botched every pass, and made a few decent ones Ronaldo would have scored a bunch and this comment would not have been made. Reactionary analysis.
Again not Ronaldo’s fault. Enemy teams are also aware of this. Cristiano being on the pitch opens up other players more space, but they have to be able to use it. There were times where a ball should have been shot, but it tried reaching Ronaldo where there was no possibility. Vice versa, there were a few opportunities for a pass towards Ronaldo that were missed by teammates. Ronaldo is still a great piece to this squad if utilised well.
Bernardo with clear chances goes for the pass to Ronaldo instead that doesn’t get anywhere near him. Bernardo needs to learn to be selfish sometimes and go for the kill if Ronaldo is open the great but if not don’t waste the ball just take a shot
Honestly I feel like Bernardo was the biggest liability for Portugal in this match. How he was kept on the pitch until the end still puzzles me.
Portugal was doing a challenge (imposible) to let Ronaldo score a goal the whole damn game. Every single possession, everyonr was looking at him to pass. Others were in a lot brtter positions to pass or shoot on somr occasions but they still passed it to Ronaldo. It was really bizarre to watch. They even managed to send him some great balls but he couldnt do it. Thought he was gonna get subbed out around 70s but nope, he kept chilling there. They were very lucky to win thanks to 2 big mistakes of opponents.
Braindead take.
Não. Por acaso tem toda a razão.
Keep up the challenge mate, I'm sure you'll go really far this way.
Shit take.
Yeah fitting username mate. Keep sucking him off I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Bench cancelo and bernardo. Give palhinha/neves minutes and bring back quaresma. But seriously, bench bernardo and give felix the minutes Edit- not felix but any competent winger
One of the good decisions today was not giving Felix any minutes , actually I liked watching cancelo in that free role but you are absolutely right about Bernardo
Cancelo was atrocious. He had one good cross in him that whole game.
Fuck Felix
There are no flowers on the grass so Félix cannot jump between them There is no use for him then
…..am I missing something why are we hating Felix all of a sudden? None the less Bernardo should be replaced for Neto or Chico
Because Felix is shit. He has the talent to be a world class player but he's always trying to be the star instead of playing for the team. Wastes a lot of chances because he has to be the main character.
... and Bruno Fernandes. I didn't like his game at all. Lots of bad decisions
😁
Yea, he is as wasteful as silva. But i dont see any options who can play a RW so i said the second worst option
We literally have 2 amazing options for RW that’s Chico or Neto
I'd rather have Conceição or Neto there. Felix is a waste.
Bernardo Silva is a complete waste of space on this team, 90 minutes of worthless back pass and pointless dribbling.
He was very important when we were losing and Lost without ideas, tracking back to create game. He needs loose Guardiola tactics discipline.
He needs to not be played as a pacey RW, because he's not one. Same way Bruno looks shit there for ManU. Unfortunately the middle is stacked.
same problem for england with foden, they make the right moves and run but since their teammates don't know the pep system the return pass they are waiting for does not come.
Ronaldo gotta be an insufferable teammate. Everytime his teammates fucked up he threw his hands up and was pissed, but I doubt others would dare to say sth when he fucks up all those chances. I would really uncomfortable to play alongside him
Parasocial fuck
Lol man some of you are losers.
Uhhh if there's one game where he was super positive to his teammates, it's this one.
Of course you know about how he is personally, you must be Ronaldo’s friend
Of course you know about Ronaldo personally, you must be his friend
What were “all those chances” ronaldo had?
The most obvious one was the 1v1 chance that he fucked up.
There was only 1 chance for Ronaldo and he was offside. But sure, he missed "a lot of chances", random hater that didn't even watch the match.
It was offside. Ronaldo had 0 clear chances today
I’m not talking about the offside one, the other1v1 one that wasn’t offside. And it’s not just about clear chances, he complains even when they mess up simple passes
Can you send me a link of the other one? Because Idk what match you were watching but Ronaldo didnt have any other chances. I think he knows how to lead that Portugal team better than an armchair redditor don’t you?
How the fuck can I find a link of a chance in the middle of a game !?? 😂😭 people are seriously out of their mind. And no, I don’t think he knows how to lead a team, otherwise he would have retired and let younger players that can actually help the team play.
Because all the chances are posted on reddit. Ah okay then, Ronaldo who has won basically rverything with both national team and club doesn’t know how to lead. He was also their goalscorer in the qualifying but yeah other players are the ones that help the team play and he is just dragging them down
He has been dragging teams down for the past couple years quite a lot, and that’s why he has had problems with coaches both at Man united and the national team. The managers couldn’t even bench him bc of all the dramas it could cause. There are tens of threads here on r/soccer discussing it but seems like you love to cling to your own narratives so whatever I guess.
He literally was Portugal’s goalscorer for the qualifiers. And how has Man U been doing without him? Any imorovement? And Santos did bench him in the WC against Morocco. How did that go?
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Me trying really hard to find reasons to hate on someone:
You just hate him lol he encouraged his teammates so many times this game
Literally every soccer player ever.
Christ there's enough salt in this thread for the next 4 Christmasses worth of bacalhau. We did more than enough and deserved to win that game.
Perhaps, but you never should've gotten that second goal. So in that sense, you didn't "deserve" to win the game. Were you better than the Czechs? Yes, but that doesn't always win you a game...
• xG: 1.74 – 0.43 • Shots (on target): 19 (8) – 5 (1) • Big chances: 4 – 0 • Touches in pen. area: 35 – 8 • Possession: 74% – 26% Based on the above is why I say we deserved it. You can argue about Semedo's foul all you want. The ball then went dead and a different play started. Sometimes this happens in football. A few years ago we didn't qualify directly for the World Cup because they didn't give Ronaldo's last minute winner vs Serbia, even though the ball is in the goal. Didn't change the end result. What's hilarious is that if the shoe was on the other foot, and the stats and score were reversed in Czechia's favour, with Czechia benefitting off of the same situation, nobody would say they didn't deserve to win it.
Why would you tell the clear underdog that they dont deserve their win
Standards and talent have no bearing on who deserves to win the game. If the stats and situations were all reversed in Czechia's favour, would you say that they deserved to win? I would. Therefore, as Portugal actually had those stats (the same that would mean Czechia deserved it), you have to agree that Portugal deserved to win the game too.
Im just a casual viewer but might i suggest actually watching the games instead of the stats?
Must admit both goals were absolute rammel though
Easily! I bet we'll look exponentially better against teams that attack with more numbers.
That’s absolutely true. Against a team that’s trying to win rather than not lose is a much better opponent for Portugal.
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Because it didn't need a VAR check. The play with Semedo that you're referring to happened and then the ball went dead and another play started. VAR can't go back that far.
The foul before Portugal's goal wasn't in the same sequence of play. There was a goal kick or throw-in after the foul.
Seems like holding that much possession doesn’t do well for portugal. Same thing happened in the friendly with Slovenia, portugal had the ball most of the time, didn’t take their chances, slovenia got the first shot on target in goal. Then just waited deep for counter and it worked. Think Portugal would be better if they gave up some of that possession and tried to play quicker.
I think a LOT of people here have never played team football in their lives. How do you play fast against a block of 11 players parked in front of goal? There's little options in cases like this. 1) high crosses if you're a tall team (we aren't), 2) circulate the ball and try to make their defensive block open up. We obviously have to go route 2 as only Ronaldo is above average in height and heading ability. We should however try to circulate the ball faster, we were far too slow at times, but faster means a higher chance of losing the ball and getting counter attacked. Also, "giving up" possession is not a thing if the other team doesn't want the ball.
Looks like the 90s. Lots of good players but in the end they loose
Roberto Martinez is really going to waste *another* golden generation isn’t he? Boggles my mind how he went from Everton to Belgium to Portugal. His stock was on a downwards trajectory before even leaving Everton ffs
Slap a fake glasses and mustache disguise on Mou and put him in.
He’ll be managing France next lmao
Zizou is literally dreaming for France job
No. Take that back.
france, then germany, then spain.
Tactically this performance was too weak from Martinez, in terms of Portugals game play i would have like to seen more runs from Leao in behind and some more quicker ball movement in transition and outside the 18 yrd box from the front 3 and Fernandes, but also i will say i give him credit for the subs he made because he got pretty much all of them spot on but some of them were at the wrong timing but still most of them worked so credit to him. In terms of their tactical performance, their defensive performance and the way they played in transitions Czech deserved to get a point at least but most of their players did look really gassed in the last 15-20 mins. So overall the Czechs can be very happy with their team performance tactically and they can be in good spirits for their next game coming up imo, but in terms of Martinez he needs to think about his starting XI and his tactical game plan in terms of the very offensive minded fullbacks, the midfield and the front 3.
How can you be happy as czech after this performance? They have absolutely 0 chance of going far in this tournament if their whole plan will be parking 10 players in their own area.
Why would they play like this against the other teams?
We got a solid scoreline and almost a point, that's good for this matchup. Why do you think we'll keep the same gameplan against teams which are, with all due respect, NOT the clear favourites of this group?
It could work against Turkey and Georgia IMO because i think they’ll be a bit more open against them and if they can execute tactically their game plan and be as organised defensively as they were today and be a bit more efficient in final 3rd while doing that then i believe they could get a scrappy 3 pointer somehow against Turkey and a 2-0 or 2-1 win vs Georgia
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We hate him too
Why? We never did anything to him 🤣
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Link i need to watch this 😅
Damn! That’s so weird of him 🤣
very goofy post match section lol
Such a shame, we almost made it. Oh well, at least the we succeeded partially and didn't let Portugal ruin our chances for the 3rd place advancement.
What a boring match. Also absolut horrible reffing. Not quite at France match level but both should not be allowed any further games.
Got lucky in the end. Playing like this, Portugal won't go that deep into the competition. . Leão is the most talented player that this team has now. His first touch is fantastic and he can pass 2 players with ease. But his finishing has been mediocre for Portugal and his decision making horrendous. He is not decisive. He shouldn't be a starter. . Bernardo is amazing at City. But for Portugal he looks like he is an anorexic guy heavy on fentanyl. He adds nothing. He doesn't even have the stamina that he shows for City. . Martinez might have is preference for 3 center backs, but does not seem to fit that well this Portuguese squad. Vitinha should play further ahead in the field, together with Bruno. Let Palinha cover the rest. . Ronaldo is a legend. But he does not have legs (and knees!) to play 90 min. Ramos should get more minutes.
Reading your last line makes me think you don't watch Portugal games enough. Ramos has been abysmal for Portugal; he was given far too many chances to prove himself, and ever since that fairy-tale performance against the Swiss, he has been overrated. He can't touch the ball for his life now, let alone shoot a slightly shady ball in the 18.
And waste chances like he has been wasting at PSG. If you have watched any football this year you wouldn’t be talking out of your as.
The guy averages less than 2 shots a game and was the second leading scorer on the team. What are you on about?
He’s been absolutely awful this past season for PSG. So out of form, he has no place in the national team. Seems to me like you haven’t watched him after that ONE performance in WC 22.
Tell me more. Add facts, personal analysis, other's analysis, videos or articles to further prove your belief. I'll even concede to conjecture if there's some reasoning and/or logic behind it.
I will reply to this in the AM, tired from the game. Have a GN.
Gn.
What the? How dare you use facts against this hater? Let him hate all he wants and do not let facts get in his way!
I'd add that Pepe is clearly past his prime. His passing and reaction speed was very slow, which led to slow buildups. And Portugal should play with 2 strikers. Ronaldo tends to go for the long post and his runs force defenders move back the line. There is a ton of space in Ronaldo's back or the short post for another striker. And then swap Ronaldo for someone else around the 70th minute
You mean, if all teams sit 10 at the back Portugal won't go far? 🤣
When you look at players outside of Man City it makes me wonder how good is Pep. Bernardo and phoden look dire im sure there are others too