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Portugal Camp Focus - Functionality over flair as Portugal progress
Amidst the media hype leading up to the match against Brazil, Carlos Queiroz identified: “That's what the World Cup is all about: the players and the beautiful game. We'll endeavour to try to play. Football must be king at the end of the World Cup.” And whilst his utopian ideal may yet be fulfilled before the tournament is out, it was certainly far from being achieved on Friday.
From the moment that the teamsheet was handed in, it was obvious that Portugal’s sole aim was to avoid defeat, securing the point that would see them qualify. The state of play in Group G heading in to the final round of fixtures dictated that the match was always likely to see caution prevail over attacking football. Brazil, having already qualified with six points from their opening two fixtures, had no real incentive to attack and Portugal could afford to lose and still progress should Ivory Coast fail to achieve the required nine-goal swing. Similarly, with the tournament schedule pairing the teams against their counterparts from Group H – with the final positions yet to be decided at the time of Portugal’s kick-off - there was no real incentive to finishing either first or second. For both sides, avoiding defeat maintained their momentum in the tournament, leaving them unbeaten after the group stage and ensuring that they progress, albeit without the expected gusto.
In the build-up to the match Coach Queiroz set out his ideal that Portugal would: “Change the rhythm of Brazil,” and talked of how: “We are not going to play for a draw but we are going out to win.” Yet, holding back from being effusive in his optimism, the Coach managed expectation by putting the game into context: “Any victory against Brazil is always an excellent result for any team,but even a draw for that matter.” His selection certainly indicated that a draw would suffice. In an attempt to disrupt Brazil’s rhythm, the primarily defensive Duda slotted in on the left wing to provide cover for youngster Fábio Coentrão, who maintained his place at left-back. Having witnessed the marauding Maicon open up Korea DPR’s resolute defence in the first game, and with Daniel Alves likely to replace the injured Elano, Queiroz successfully nullified the threat down Brazil’s right with his double full-back combination.
A less inspired selection was Ricardo Costa at right-back, who struggled to deal with the nimble Nilmar, particularly when his slack marking almost allowed the Brazilian to break the deadlock. Costa was the third right-back who failed to impress in as many games, meaning that the Coach may be tempted to deploy Pepe at right-back and restore the reliable Pedro Mendes to central midfield. On top of the largely solid defence, Ronaldo’s selection as the lone striker was geared towards Portugal’s counter-attacking play and the captain nearly engineered the breakthrough when his devastating run laid on a chance for Raúl Meireles breaking from midfield. After putting in a strong performance against Ivory Coast, Hugo Almeida was unlucky not to maintain his place, but rather than reflecting a lack of faith from the manager, his omission was purely tactical. Given the result, his tactics appeared to be spot on - although Portugal failed to excite, they secured progression, and Queiroz is again proving himself to be a shrewd tactician.
When the ‘Group of Death’ was drawn back in December, progression was the aim and Portugal achieved this whilst maintaining solid, if not spectacular, form. With the stalemate, Portugal extended their already impressive unbeaten sequence, a run that now stretches to 19 games without loss, with their last defeat coming in a 6-2 humbling by Brazil in November 2008. With Portugal’s selection, it is possible that this result was still preying on their minds. Tiago, so impressive in their last World Cup outing, openly admitted: “It was a painful defeat,” but was also quick to identify: “It was also a real turning-point because since then we haven’t conceded many goals. Now we’re a much more compact unit and much more confident.”
To be more precise, A Selecção das Quinas have kept clean sheets in 21 of their last 25 games, a feat at least partially attributable to their goalkeeper Eduardo. Since establishing himself as No. 1 after the 6-2 demolition, the Braga man has yet to taste defeat with the national side. Yet he may well have experienced that bitter taste but for his instinctive reaction save on the half-hour mark, tipping the ball onto the bar from Nilmar’s effort after some less than decisive defending from Ricardo Costa. As it is, the run continues as Portugal head into the last-16, and with one of the tightest defences in the tournament they will fancy their chances of emulating Italy and progressing to lift the trophy based on defensive solidity.
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