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| Wednesday, 13 June 2012 18:04 |
Portugal 3-2 DenmarkVarela’s late strikes seals thriller in Lviv Portugal produced a characteristically schizophrenic performance against Denmark this evening, throwing away a two-goal lead and flirting with elimination, but a fine strike from Silvestre Varela ensured his team's Euro 2012 fate remained in their own hands. Nicklas Bendtner continued his remarkable form against the Selecção with a brace, whilst Pepe and Hélder Postiga were on target for Paulo Bento’s side.
Despite speculation in both the Portuguese and Danish media in the days leading up to the match, both coaches named unchanged line-ups from their opening fixtures. That meant Hélder Postiga up front with Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal; and Simon Poulsen ahead of Silberbauer (who shackled Portugal’s captain so well in qualifying) at left back for Denmark.  Unlike in their tournament opener against the Netherlands, Denmark began this match on the front foot, winning four corners in the opening eight minutes. The Portuguese back line managed to deal with all four, with Pepe at the heart of the action. The Real Madrid man produced a vital block to charge down a Christian Eriksen shot, and along with Meireles contributed a pair of headed clearances. Portugal looked uncertain during the early going, and did not help themselves by conceding possession cheaply with a succession of searching balls forward that neither Nani, Postiga nor Ronaldo were able to connect with. However, after ten minutes or so the midfield trio were afforded more opportunities to pick passes, and the Selecção’s hold on the game tightened as a result.  Their first effort on goal arrived with seventeen minutes gone, and unsurprisingly it was Cristiano Ronaldo who produced it. The captain received a short pass from Veloso close to the centre circle, cut inside and teed up the arriving Meireles. The initial shot from the Chelsea midfielder was blocked, and Ronaldo’s rebound flew wide of the post. Ronaldo fired his first free kick of the afternoon over the bar shortly after. By now, the momentum had swung decidedly in favour of the Selecção. A piercing cross from Veloso was turned behind at the last second by Kjaer, and from the resulting corner, Portugal took the lead. João Moutinho, barracked against Turkey at the Estádio da Luz for his poor delivery, planted a perfect ball onto the head of the onrushing Pepe, who was allowed to run towards the near post on the diagonal and glance home in emphatic fashion. Having taken the lead, Portugal sought to press home their advantage immediately, as the Danish defence continued to wobble. Moutinho tested Andersen with another dangerous corner, whilst Kjaer managed to divert a goal-bound free kick from Ronaldo over the bar.  The Selecção had a swagger about their play, and with nine minutes left until half time, their lead was doubled by a player who had endured his (un)fair share of criticism since the Germany match. Many have questioned Hélder Postiga’s place in the starting eleven, but the Zaragoza man repaid Paulo Bento’s continued faith with a crisp finish from a low Nani ball, which left Andersen with no chance. At this point Portugal were in total control, but four minutes later, Denmark landed a telling counterpunch of their own. Ronaldo’s tracking back looked to have neutered a counter-attack, but a deft ball across the box from Poulsen found Krohn-Dehli unmarked at the back post. Denmark’s goalscorer against the Netherlands showed a cool head in outwitted the scrambling Pepe and Alves, opting to turn a header back across goal rather than shooting. Nicklas Bendtner, Portugal’s pre-eminent nemesis of modern times, was only too willing to turn home his fifth goal in as many games against the Selecção.  A spilled cross by Andersen almost gifted Portugal a third moments before the interval, but another last-ditch clearance from Kjaer took the ball away from Ronaldo’s boot. Portugal were ahead at the halfway point, but the game was far from won. A cagey opening to the second half soon gave way to a pair of near misses for Portugal, both of which came from Danish errors. First, the back line were sufficiently flat-footed to allow Ronaldo to streak through on goal unchallenged. It looked like a certain third, but a reprieve for Denmark arrived in the form of Ronaldo’s unusually tentative shot, which Andersen handled comfortably. Then, a slack pass from Jakob Poulsen set Postiga free with Ronaldo sprinting into space, but the tiring Postiga failed to gather himself, and was robbed of possession by Agger. With the arrival of the hour mark, the game entered something of a lull, with Denmark thrown out of shape by the departure of the injured Rommedahl – their second enforced change of the match. A Kvist piledriver whistled past Patrício’s post, and Rommedahl’s replacement Mikkelsen forced a crucial clearance from Pepe, but with both coaches pondering their tactics for a finale that promised tension, the middle period of the half slipped by without any great excitement.  The same however could not be said for the final ten minutes. Nicklas Bendtner had delivered a reminder of his ability to hurt Portugal during the quiet spell, bringing down a long ball and shooting just wide, but the Arsenal man saved his coup de grace for late on. Jacobsen, given licence to roam forward by Ronaldo’s lack of tracking back, produced a deep ball that fell perfectly for Bendtner, who had given Pepe the slip. Patrício managed to get a hand on the ball, but could only divert it off the post and in. Moments before the goal Ronaldo had spurned a glorious chance to put the game to bed after a sublime first-time ball from Nani, and at that point, it seemed as if Portugal’s exit from the Championships would be the result of a miss from their outstanding player.  But there was more to come. In their desperation Portugal poured bodies forward, with Coentrão in particular neglecting his defensive duties altogether. A risky ploy, but on 86 minutes it paid off. Coentrão skipped past his marker and delivered a pinpoint cross for substitute Silvestre Varela. The Porto man struck air with his initial effort, but made no mistake with his second attempt, which flew beyond Andersen to salvage the Selecção’s tournament. With Germany and the Netherlands meeting later this evening, Portugal join the former and Denmark on three points. The Selecção’s final group fixture against the Netherlands takes place on Sunday. Goals [0-1] Pepe 24’ [0-2] Hélder Postiga 36’ [1-2] Bendtner 41’ [2-2] Bendtner 80’ [2-3] Varela 86’ Portugal: Rui Patrício; João Pereira, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão; Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Raúl Meireles (Varela 83’); Nani (Rolando 88’), Hélder Postiga (Nélson Oliveira 63’), Cristiano Ronaldo. Denmark: Andersen; Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, Poulsen; Kvist, Zimling (Jakob Poulsen 16’), Eriksen; Rommedahl (Mikkelsen 59’), Krohn-Dehli (Schone 90’), Bendtner. Ben Shave |
Portuguese actually have a player that works his tail off in training and strives to be the best. Quaresma has never done that. If he did maybe he wouldn't have wasted a ton of talent.
Yes Cristiano had a bad game. Guess what, he's had bad games with Real as well. The fact remains that if Portugal is going to accomplish anything in these Euros, Cristiano will be needed.
Rob, I don't mean to single you out - because many others here, including myself have "the man crush" on Figo. We are sometimes a little guilty of romanticizing all that was good in Figo, forgetting that he too had his moments of petulance.
Figo's incidents weren't nearly as well publicized outside of Portugal because he wasn't disliked by the British press (I know I keep harping on that).
But seriously - during penalties against England in 2004...did you really believe Scolari when he said Figo was in the dressing room praying to the Virgin Mary because he couldn't stand the pressure of watching penalties? Come on now...he was pissed and he walked out. It didn't affect our view of him - but man, had that been Ronaldo, everyone would be crucifying him.
One day, we are going to look back on Ronaldo and appreciate what a truly special talent he is and how much he meant to the seleccao and the country. But that will be in a generation or two.
Take a look at the banner on this site - Eusebio, Figo and Ronaldo...which tells you what the people who created this great site think of his talent.
Lay off him - he is what he is, an amazing talent that demands no more from his teammates than demands of himself. Can you imagine what kind of statistics this man would have put up for his team if he had a Rui Costa in the middle of the team?
Never plays well for Portugal? May I remind you of EURO 2004 and WC 2006? Do you people genuinely believe Portugal would have made it to this EURO without him? We couldn't even win against Cyprus and Norway! He came back from injury, scored, what, 7 goals? And assisted countless others. Remind me again, who lead Portugal against Bosnia and scored 2 goals (including our first)?
The man's confidence is down the drain. He missed the penalty against Turkey, then the first chance yesterday and then the second. As if that wasn't enough, he had to endure 'MESSI MESSI' chants from the Danes after that and was later asked questions about Messi by journalists setting bait.
Put yourselves in his shoes, you're playing under pressure to perform for your country in the group of death and you have the hopes of a whole nation on your shoulders while everyone is expecting you to score every game because you did that with your club throughout the year. He was nervous as hell before kickoff, who wouldn't be?! He's human after all!
And don't even get me started on people who think whether or not he sings the national anthem shows patriotism and determines his love for his country. That's absurd!
Ronaldo did well against Germany despite barely touching the ball. He had a great first half yesterday as well, how come nobody noticed his through balls to Postiga? If that were any other striker Portugal could have gone 2-0 up by the 30' mark. His link up play, passing and vision in the second half was very good too. I expect him to have a MOTM performance in the upcoming Holland game.
I understand his frustration, granted his attitude could have (and should be) been better, especially as captain.
I'm sorry for the long comment, but I admire out captain.
Forca Portugal!
Cristiano had what was considered a horrible match due to two misses that he normally puts away.
Even if you love Messi, Cristiano is by far the 2nd best player in the world, yet him we bench. It's crazy. I guess some folks just don't follow futebol and don't understand the spacing and opportunities Cristiano provides without even touching the ball.
On a secondary note, Varela now is a superstar. Did we forget that he missed an easy one verse the Germans. Better yet he completely missed the ball on his first attempt verse Denmark. Luckily he got another shot at it and he scored. Whew.
Please let's settle down.
Yes we made things difficult, but we've been doing that for a long time now. The great news is that we won.
It won't be easy verse the Dutch, and us getting killed, a draw, or us winning wouldn't surprise me. It shouldn't surprise anyone considering this teams play all through qualifying and tourney.
I was more concerned with Patricio's indecision on the first goal and Pepe misjudging another cross.
Our defense still isn't up to par throughout the game. Given our difficulty in scoring, that's not good.
We need to tighten up at the back.
Overall, the team played well, defence lapses cost us again & they will need to be more cautious against the dutch. I don't think the Germans will go easy on the Danes as they will want to avoid Russia, this should work to our advantage.
Finally, in the past I have been critical Postiga, but if ever a game showed his value to the way the team play it was yesterday, great work rate & took his only chance.
While the press should be harsh on him because of his inability to defend that's what nearly costs us the game. If he had tracked back then the score would still be 2-0 at full time.
I fear that in the next match Ronaldo will be so obsessed with scoring that he will be an even bigger liability.
@Andre
You're right I said that and I was wrong. :-) My opinion was based on the performance in the friendlies. Instead Bento surprised me against Germany with using the right tactics and having an excellent plan B.
forca portugal!!!
i dont think B. alves learn how to pass the ball. that man knows nothing like passing the ball all he knows is to bomb the ball in front. ronaldo remained 15 minutes without touching on the ball. we err many passes when he does all the run to wait for it. any one in his case will be desperate
many of you in is situation will cry and sheet the pants some one mention that he was not in his place. how would he be in his place when we seem to err every pas and wait for him to solve our problems. go and watch the replay of the game.
the pressure of dinmark which lead to their second goal was due to lack of possesion we had then, all because of poor decision of B. alves instead of organising the game by passing the ball he prefered to be bombing the ball away to dinmark who felt that we lost control and they came up on us
cause they got all the balls from b. alves for free. their second goal came like that he bombs the ball and they got for free and attack us every now and then.
I am pretty sure that everyone else on this board died a little on Bendtner's second goal - but the reaction, the game winner, showed heart, character and a belief in themselves and the manager who made the switch. We used to praise Scolari for his late game moves - it is time to give it up to Bento as well.
you know what fellas - i've been writing and rewriting this post for a half an hour while i watch the replay. I'm too happy right now to think straight.
I will offer one other viewpoint on Denmark's second goal - Moutinho had a chance to chase a Danish player back, instead he anticipated a pass back and lunged forward - the Danish player pulled the ball back and sprayed it out wide, the Jacobsen (the guy who sent the cross into Bendtner).
Just saying - we can blame Ronaldo for not tracking back, but Moutinho's first priority is to make sure the ball goes back, not jumping the play and giving the Danes the opportunity to maintain possession in a dangerous part of the field.
This game will serve us well against the Dutch.
Remember Figo. He was a role model, who displayed exemplary conduct both on and off the pitch. A true leader, inspiring confidence and determination in his team mates. How the NT misses such a captain. But that was then and this is now ...
Now consider Pepe, who leads by example, a true team player and loves the country he represents. I say that because even though he was born in Brasil, he clearly loves and respects the fact that he plays for Portugal. Notice how he kissed the Portuguese flag on his shirt after scoring the first goal. Furthermore, watch him during the singing of the Portuguese anthem as he sings with pride and gusto. Now compare this to Ronaldo, head down during the Anthem and during goal celebrations its all about him when he scores but couldn't care less when it's a team mate.
However, as other posters on this site have suggested, we need Ronaldo to play (creates space for others, his vision on thru balls, whipping in crosses & balls from the touch line, etc.) as he is world class. BUT .... please Bento, give the arm band to PEPE!!!
Robert/Chicago is right. Nani is Portugal's playmaker. He set up Postiga nicely and the cross field pass for CR was perfect. Maybe we need him more on the wing than as a midfielder but give him the ball and he will create chances. He has pinpoint crossing as well.
Ronaldo had a terrible game but the real weak link is Meireles, he has been awful throughout euro.
Varela!! Varela!!! Varela!!! Forca Portugal!!
And, attempting all these long passes prevent Meireles and Moutinho from building well formed and sustained attacks with Nani and Ronaldo.
Nani - he is Portugal's playmaker. Get the ball on his feet.
Ronaldo - he creates opportunity to fail where others wouldn't be on the ball. the criticism is ridiculous.
Postiga - nice for him to get a goal today.
Do the Dutch rise form the ashes or roll over?
And, attempting all these long passes prevent Meireles and Moutinho from building well formed and sustained attacks with Nani and Ronaldo.
Nani - he is Portugal's playmaker. Get the ball on his feet.
Ronaldo - he creates opportunity to fail where others wouldn't be on the ball. the criticism is ridiculous.
Postiga - nice for him to get a goal today.
Do the Dutch rise form the ashes or roll over?
And this is all because of Ronaldo.
Bento was AFRAID to intervene and only did so after the second Bendtner goal e.g. when it was too late.
That egomaniac has nearly cost us the game, bloody hell. And if the press doesn't want to step up than I hope the players do.
Also our "plan B" with Varela, Ronaldo, Nani and Oliveira upfront is better than our Plan A (4-3-3), why don't we start like that next time?
I wish Pepe could start wearing the armband. The guy isn't even Portuguese, but man does he bleed red and green more then anybody else. Deservedly MOTM!
What matters is the 3 points, now we must finish off Holland in order to progress.
anyone who thinks we're better with off Ronaldo in the line up simply doesn't understand football. full stop. even if he doesn't produce he makes the opposition change their game plan and taylor how they play because of his presence. Nani was allowed to have a good game because Denmark's focus was not on him. Postiga was allowed to find space because the defender's heads were turned looking for Ronaldo. By simply being on the field he opens up space.
After saying all that in defending him, no doubt he has to play better. Those chances must be finished, and Portugal doesn't have a chance unless those kind of opportunities are converted.
One more thing - The first Denmark goal was a disgrace. For the entire back line to stop playing (and Alves to lose Bendtner) without hearing the whistle is sloppy, especially at a tournament like this. It was a gift, and our defence can not concede these types of goals.
Patricio
João pereira-----pepe-----alves-----coentrão
------ ------custodio-----------
------veloso-----moutinho
-----------nani------postiga-----Ronaldo
Subs varela, oliveira and maybe meireles
Having said that Bento need to bitc4 slap him around a bit for his attitude on the field his pouting was hard to watch. If he can keep his head clear he'll be fine.
I'm predicting a breakout game for CR7 against the Dutch.
Mr captain you are no doubt good to run riot with gatafe, santander, sporting Gijon etc.... But u can't beat worldclass defenders @ euro. No way u stand a chance for ballon d or
I hope all of you will go easy on CR.. his two incredible misses are perfect example as to why he SHOULD NOT play as a striker. He was never great on 1v1s when the keeper cuts down the angle but in the 1st half, he looked threatening when he got the ball and his link up play was good. You could see his head down during the anthem.. he was nervous. He's only human and should be given a break.
I figured Pepe would make an impact and Postiga scored another important goal though I wish he'd done better on that partial breakaway. We never quite turned on during the match except (again) in the final 10 minutes and payback served those "Messi" chants well.
Most importantly we got the 3 points and are still very much alive.. well Germany seem to be pounding on The Netherlands 2-0 now. I was hoping for a tie.. dont matter. I hope our players learned a lesson today.
PLEASE start with Nelson Oliveira Mr Bento. He can hold the ball up and has got an instinct for goal. Postega spent more time on the floor than standing up and has zero pace. Can Bruno Alves also play the easy pass rather than try and do the 30 yard killer pass. The great news is that after all those shocking wasted chances, Ronaldo has to score next game!
We're still in there - FORCA!
Ronaldo was infuriating to watch tonight. Useless free-kicks and wasted the mother of all chances. Good job Varela saved his bacon. Bench him.
Average Players: Bruno Alves and Pepe played ok and Pepe redeemed himself by scoring that early goal but he was average. Other than the goal Postiga played ok and seems to only be good for one half. Rui Patricio really scares me because it seems like any shot on goal is going in.
Good Players: Veloso and Moutinho provided great service through the air and on the ground. Nani had great service as well and seemed very calm and composed on the ball. And Joao Pereira was a rock on his side of the defense.
The Subs: Oliveira played good and he is just very good on the ball. He can hold it and allow other players to get in the game. Varela also posseses the same qualities and he scored a huge goal that made up for his miss against Germany.
My lineup against the Dutch.
Pereira---Pepe---Alves---Coentrao
---Meireles---
Moutinho--------------------Veloso
Nani--- ---Varela
Postiga
Subs would be Oliveira at halftime for Postiga. And maybe Ronaldo for Meireles or Varela depending on how the game is going. But he really doesnt deserve to start when he does not even give effort to win the game as a team. Also he needs to stop taking free kicks because he either hits it 10 yards over the box or into the wall. Let veloso whip them in for header chances. Or Moutinho.
All in all though im very Happy Portugal won even though the score could have easily been 5-1 Portugal if Ronaldo would have scored his two beautiful chances. I know for a fact he would have buried them for Madrid.
Yes our best player had a shocker. There is no need to pour hatred on him (as what is happening so brutally by our countrymen in the twitterverse)
If we are fortunate enough to progress from the group, we will need him.
Força Portugal!
Brilliant sub both games.
First the negatives: “schizophrenic” is the perfect word to describe the way Portugal played today. They started the game very well, played calmly, but after going up by two goals they turned off the ambition and played like they had already won the game. They need to maintain the pressure and ambition to win throughout the entire game.
On top of that, the key thing I will take away from this game was the very poor performance of Ronaldo. He had at least two wide open chances to score and he missed both miserably. The second was particularly poor with his shot missing the net entirely even though he had only the keeper to beat. It’s hard to disagree with critics who say he doesn’t perform for the national team after the way he played today, squandering so many fantastic chances.
Portugal continues to be susceptible to set pieces and crosses that lead to headed goals. Apparently we have no answer for this strategy. Denmark has executed this brilliantly against us in the past couple of games and Bendtner is officially Portugal’s most dangerous opponent. Every time the Danes look like they are out of it, he continues to provide them with crucial and timely goals.
The first Denmark goal should never have happened. Bendtner was completely unmarked at the far post with the defensive line completely out of sorts. The defending was far too casual.
Now that the negative are out of the way, aside from Ronaldo, the rest of the team played quite well. Nani did a great job controlling the right side of the pitch and setting up the very well struck Postiga goal. Although, Postiga did very well to score, he also fluffed a couple of chances and still looked somewhat out of sorts throughout the game. Nevertheless, we needed him to produce and he did, so well done.
Varela did another fantastic job as a substitute at the end of the match. I was really impressed by him at the end of the Germany game and I love the hustle and determination he has brought to both games. He scored a wonderful goal off of what was not an easy shot to take because of the way he was positioned. If he had played more minutes he would be my man of the match.
Although Pepe scored the opener, I would say that Coentrao Portugal’s man of the match for Portugal. He had another huge game, taking charge of the attack on many occasions, playing solid both offensively and defensively and linking up well with Ronaldo. It’s only a shame the latter had a very off day and couldn’t take full advantage of Coentrao’s support.
Overall, Portugal must do a better job defensively against Holland and not sit back if they establish a lead or in order to preserve a tie. They must continue to take the initiative and seek to score because they were not good enough defensively in the first two games.
I would rate the team’s overall performance a 7.5/10. Denmark: 6.5/10.
MOTM for Denmark: Bendtner - 9/10
MOTM for Portugal: Coentrao - 8/10 (Honourable mention to Varela who only misses out because he was subbed in late).
---Rui Patricio---
---Pereira--------Pepe--------Alves--------Coentrao---
---Meireles---
---Moutinho-----------------Veloso---
---Nani--- ---Varela---
---Postiga---
Subs would be Oliveria at halftime. And maybe Ronaldo depending on how the game is going and how Varela plays. Ronaldo is just to selfish and completely brings the team down. He takes stupid free kicks and never threatens with them anymore. I would rather have Veloso whip the free kicks in the box. But instead Ronaldo steps up and either sends it ten yards over the bar or into the wall. Portugal play better without Ronaldo in the line up. And I know everyone is going to give me flak for saying that but Portugal are better off without him.
Once again Bento got it right with Varela as a sub -- far superior to what Quaresma offers. I have to say that Meireles is the weak link in midfield but we have limited options at this point. Wasteful with his passes and shooting. He is a huge liability and we need him to step up in game 3.
All good that we are alive and that is what is important.