29 March 2007, by Tom Kundert

Tiago stars as Portugal draw in Serbia

Serbia 1-1 Portugal

Portugal drew 1-1 in Belgrade in a hard-fought match last night. Tiago (pictured) scored after just five minutes to put Scolari’s men ahead, but the hosts came back strongly and scored a deserved equaliser shortly before half time.

Despite dominating possession and peppering the Serbian net with shots from distance throughout the second half Portugal had to settle for a draw. The result is good enough for Portugal to move up to second place in Group A and into a qualification position for the 2008 European Championships.

Scolari made one change in relation to the 4-0 thrashing of Belgium on Saturday, recalling Simao with Ricardo Quaresma relegated to the substitutes’ bench.

The match could not have got off to a better start for Portugal as Tiago was given time and space 30 metres from goal and his speculative lob sailed over goalkeeper Stojkovic and into the back of the net after just five minutes.

Serbia, roared on by the partisan crowd, came back strongly and Ricardo had to produce a sharp save to stop a Stankovic effort in the 11th minute. The home team were gradually cranking up the pressure but found it difficult to carve out clear-cut chances against the Portugal rearguard well marshalled by captain Jorge Andrade and Ricardo Carvalho.

Petit rocket

Petit almost doubled the visitors’ lead in the 28th minute when his powerful shot from outside the box was tipped over the bar by Stojkovic. Three minutes later Vidic beat Ricardo to a cross and his header flew just past the post.

Serbia were proving dangerous in the air and it was from a corner that their equaliser arrived as Jankovic rose highest and thundered a header past Ricardo to leave the match all square at the break.

Portugal came out strongly in the second half, dominating possession and looking menacing through the strong forward running of Simao and Ronaldo. But the main plot of the second half was the personal battle between Tiago and the Serbian stopper Stojkovic.

Three times the Lyon midfielder, playing his best game in a Portugal shirt, hit shots from outside the box that appeared destined for the back of the net. But three times Stojkovic produced flying saves to frustrate Portugal.

Scolari showed he was content with the draw as he bolstered the Portugal defence and solidified midfield by bringing on Caneira and Meireles for Miguel and Moutinho respectively and both teams appeared reasonably happy with a share of the points at 90 minutes.

Portugal move into second place in the group having theoretically played their three most difficult matches away to Poland, Finland and Serbia.

PortuGOAL man of the match:
Tiago – A performance oozing with verve and class proved that the Lyon midfielder is a capable replacement for Deco.

Serbia:
Stojkovic, Tosic (Lasovic, 83), Vidic, Dragutinovic, Krstajic, Duljaj, Jankovic (Koroman, 68), Krasic, Stankovic (Markovic, 77), Pantelic, Kovacebic
Yellow Cards: Stankovic (10), Pantelic (34), Jankovic (41)

Portugal:
Ricardo, Miguel (Caneira, 71), Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Petit, Joao Moutinho (Raul Meireles, 77), Tiago, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Quaresma, 81), Simao
Yellow Cards: Cristiano Ronaldo (35), Tiago (68)

Goals:
[0-1] Tiago, 5
[0-2] Jankovic, 37