 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 04 June 2011 21:59 |
Postiga strike gives Seleccao vital winPortugal 1-0 Norway Portugal took an important step towards qualification for Euro 2012 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Norway at the Estadio da Luz tonight. Helder Postiga's fine strike in the 53rd minute from a Nani cross proved the difference between the sides.
In spurts they were exhilarating, at times they were sloppy and they ended the match nervously, but the Seleccao got the job done to continue the fine run of results under new coach Paulo Bento – including three straight wins in his three competitive games – to put Portugal top of the pile in Group H with three matches remaining.
A 50,000-plus crowd turned up in the Portuguese capital and the hosts started brightly. Moutinho, excellent throughout, and Meireles fizzed shots narrowly over and wide in the early exchanges as Portugal pushed Norway back with some crisp passing and dangerous wing play on either flank by Coentrao and Nani.
Ronaldo goes closeIn the 10th minute Moutinho won a free-kick in ‘Ronaldo territory’ 25 yards out. The Portugal captain hit his shot well but a flying Rune Jarstein in the Norway goal produced a fine stop to push it round the post.
Although Portugal were dominating, Norway served notice that they posed a real danger on the break, creating two gilt-edged chances in quick succession. On 16 minutes the ball was rapidly worked to Huselklepp whose cross-shot brought a sharp diving stop out of Eduardo. The Norwegians spurned an even better chance in the 24th minute as a clumsy touch by Meireles teed up Pedersen, who skied his effort high over the bar from just 10 yards out.
The two scares seemed to knock Portugal out of their stride, and although they remained in the ascendancy chances were few and far between. As half time approached a fine Martins-Coentrao-Ronaldo combination ended with Cristiano heading Coentrao’s cross straight at Jarstein, and Nani’s low effort was then almost spilled by the keeper.
Postiga makes the breakthroughAs the second half kicked off there was a palpable nervousness among the strangely muted crowd, but the tension was soon relieved as Postiga, who had struggled to make an impact until then, came up with a true poacher’s goal. The Sporting striker sped in front of his marker to reach Nani’s inviting cross first, and direct a low finish into the corner of the net. Postiga has had his struggles in his club career, but at international level he retains the knack for scoring vital goals for the Seleccao.
Hopes that the goal would open up the game were confounded as Norway stuck to their defensive formation, making substitutions to freshen up the team rather than to change their tactical set-up.
Portugal were also content to retain possession without committing too many men forward, well aware of the importance of securing the three points. The Seleccao almost grabbed the killer second goal on 82 minutes. Nani appeared to be tripped in the box but the referee did not whistle. However, the ball fell right into Ronaldo’s path but the winger uncharacteristically dithered and the chance was gone.
TogethernessIndeed, Ronaldo appeared jaded and did not have his best game for Portugal, although the willingness with which he brought his team-mates into play – a side of his game that was plainly lacking for the Seleccao in the past – was another evident sign that Paulo Bento has engendered an excellent sense of togetherness throughout the squad. Save a couple of high balls pumped into the box in the dying minutes, Portugal’s hard work and team spirit saw them through to the final whistle without undue alarm.
Portugal lead the group on goal difference from Denmark and Norway, with all three teams on 10 points. Although one or both of the Scandinavian rivals will drop points when they play each other in Copenhagen in September, everything points towards a group-defining final game between the Portuguese and Danes in the final round of matches of the campaign on 11 October.
Portugal:
Eduardo, João Pereira (Sílvio, 73), Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão, Raul Meireles, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Martins (Ruben Micael, 69), João Moutinho, Nani (Silvestre Varela, 86), Hélder Postiga
Norway:
Rune Jarstein, Tom Hogli, Brede Hangeland, Vadim Devidov, John Arne Riise, Bjorn Helge Riise, Henning Hauger, Christian Grindheim (Markus Henriksen, 83), Erik Huseklepp (Daniel Braaten, 75), Morten Gamst Pedersen, John Carew (Mohammed Abdellaoue, 60)
Goals:
[1-0] Postiga, 53
by Tom Kundert
|
I thought that Nani had an awful game. I'm sorry but he was just bad.
I've killed C. Martins, but he wasn't that bad. He did lose the ball in a bad spot early, but otherwise far from his worst.
Moutinho was also average at best.
Meireles was fine, and I don't mind him bombing away as much as others do. Played well in my opinion.
I know that he scored, but I thought that Postiga was a no show for most of the game. He had two great opportunities to score early on, but his first touches failed him miserably. To be fair, his goal was a nice one, since there was a lot left to do after the cross. Good tenacity.
I know that people kill Almeida, and yes he's frustrating at times, but he's still our best striker and should be starting.
Postiga is not the answer.
Eduardo barely got any action, but he made the big save when he had to. I know that he had a rough year at Genoa, but maybe he will settle down and show his class.
Pepe, what can you say, he Brazilian but he should be our Captain.
Coentrao was his usual self, which is a good thing. I also thought that Perreira was fine. His crossing was lacking, but Nani's play good have hurt him.
Bruno Alves also showed well.
Let me add that all I wanted was a win, so I can;t go crazy about the overall play. Norway was never going to be easy since they only needed a draw.
As for Ronaldo being booed I believe is because some fans expect him to play as well as he plays for his club but what they forget is our national team is no Real Madrid. I understand the frustration 'cause I find myself expecting a lot from him as well. But I would never ever boo him so based on that and on the fact that at some point they were almost asleep in a game that was so important for Portugal I don't think they were that great supporters either. As a final note I think we will qualify for the next year's Euro but until we find that striker that we so badly need the chances of winning a major competition are rather small...
Sorry dude, I like Postiga but he's not even Klose.
Although the game itself wasn't particularly brilliant (neither was the opposition) I must say I was pretty upset with the fans booing Ronaldo, at some. What's up with that. You don't boo your own team. That for me was the lowest point of the game, if anything it's just counter-productive. Postiga's goal? Delicious, I tell you...
It is because of comments like those that people think it is a bias and not an opinion.
Carlos Martins had a good game that is what everyone is trying to tell you, but your hatred for him has you seeing different.
At least when I hate on Quaresma I have some stats to point at that say he was bad. You tell me how many others had 2 shots on net that the goalkeeper had to save? They were both good.. Portugal only had 8 altogether.
I saw a lot of missed shots and bad ones.. by the others.
What has these people all riled up is that you are not listening to reason. If 95% of the people tell you you're wrong you will be wrong 95% of the time in that specific argument. Although the masses have been fooled sometimes.. this is not one of those cases.
Hey everyone makes mistakes.. admit it and move on.
Carlos Martins sucks. For the last time I'm not saying that just because I'm anti-benfica. If you look at my previous comments you'd know that because I mentioned that I'd rather have David Simao in there (who is another Benfica player). I'm saying Martins because that's what I perceive.
@ SLBTILLDEATH Coming on here and seeing people claiming I'm not a Portugal fan because I put down Carlos Martins? Look how many people put down Nani!!! But you don't see Sporting fans crying about that and claiming that "those haters are not portugal fans". For the record, I'm not switching back and why would I? I just had the privilege of watching my team come second in Europe. Braga deserves the fans it has and deserves more.
"Look at the other group leaders and check out how many goals these teams have scored. Germany-19, Italy-14, Netherlands-21, Spain 15."
you realize that all but Spain have played 1 more game, and are in 6 team groups (with that sixth extra team being the lowest ranked teams in europe)?? Portugal isn't in trouble at all. We had a terrible start and have now recovered to hold our destiny completely in our hands.
We all would have liked to pop more goals against Norway, but the reality is 3 pts was FAR more important than 3 goals. Norway was organized and played a disciplined defensive game. No shame in beating them 1-0.
Everyone needs to calm down. this was a GOOD result. enjoy it.
About Ronaldo, I just think he is so concerned with doing well and playing to his potential that he doesn't realize he's doing too much. Someone mentioned that Messi has overcome this in his own game but I don't see that at all. For Cristiano, I just think he needs some confidence when he plays for Portugal, and it's hard when your own fans boo whenever you make a mistake. You could tell that he wanted to score badly, and you could feel his frustration when he didn't. Everyone just needs to have faith and support him, especially when he has a tough game, and maybe be thankful that he is Portuguese for once?
As for Carlos Martins debate, I thought he did well. Not the greatest performance by any stretch, but really, who had a quality game? Pepe was MOTM for me, and perhaps Fabio with his usual go-getter attitude, but everyone else was average at best really. That brings me back to my original point. Portugal dominates, yet everyone was average.
Funny part is I agreed with everything in your post, and take things on a post by post basis. So clearly I am not as biased as the Voice of Reason.
Like I said your commentary on "this" game was spot on.. and I appreciated your commentary.
Some people arbitrarily pick on Bryan just for the sake of it also.. as he does with some others too.. it is as bias related as his attacks on Martins.
I prefer to pick on Bryan when he makes a post that is in my opinion wrong.. like this one.
I just don't use drive by commentary.. I usually walk up and shoot them in the head with my comments instead. It saves on innocent bystanders.
Martins played with energy and had a lot of dangerous crosses that were cut out by a much taller team. It is not about making every one it is about putting them in the area where our players have a chance to fight for them and win them. It is also about creating the pressure that leads to mistakes, especially against such a strong defensive aerial team like Norway.
In contrast I don't think CR made a cross that was good and Nani for the most part also was missing until he hit that sublime low cross which Postiga converted well. Same goes for Pereira, and Coentrao only got a few to work.
So besides Coentrao it was only Martins landing them or putting them into dangerous areas.
Sure he made a mistake or two.. besides Pepe and Eduardo... there was no others that were perfect.
Not to mention he had two shots on target that the GK had to dive across to save. I gave him an 8.5.
CR had by far his worst game since Bento took over... and besides a couple of glimmers he looked out of sorts most around me thought he was tired.. but I think the fact is he puts a lot of pressure on himself in these BIG MATCHES and then over-thinks things instead of running at full speed. Yesterday looked like he was playing in slow motion. I gave him a 7.5 on the back of those two good opportunities.
He would've scored half of the opportunities he had at club but over-thought and then wasted the opportunities, Messi was the same up until a couple of years ago. CR still has to overcome that hurdle.
As for Nani a lot are beating on him for his crosses... sure they were horrible until the assist but his link up work with others was exceptional so he wasn't all bad. I would give him an 8 on the back of the amazing assist.
Postiga too for the most part waved in and out of the game but in fairness to him, the supply line was weak at best and he is used to playing with a partner up front. Having two defenders crowd him will never make for an awe inspiring performance. Like some others have stated.. this guy like Gomes before him scores crucial goals for Portugal.. and should get some help and have a partner up front. I gave him an 8.5 based upon the amazing strike to get the goal. That shot wasn't as easy as it looked.
Pepe what can you say.. so many complained about him.. including most of the people I watched the game with but as the game wore on they could see what I was talking about. He was stellar, shut everything down made crucial plays that shut down the dangerous counter attack and for me was MOTM. A telling stat sometimes is Fouls Committed and Fouls Suffered to gauge a players play.. because if they are playing well they will be fouled and if they are out of position they too will foul. Pepe fouled 0 times but was fouled 3 times. I gave him a 9 for his performance.
Eduardo too was in excellent form someone said he only touched the ball twice but he stopped a couple of sure goals with his presence.. and he charged down some dangerous balls. I also gave him a 9.
Alves was one of the major holes and Norway went through him for their best opportunities. As I stated in the past if he has a good DM he is excellent but without it his pace and positioning hurt him. How Norway didn't capitalize on some of his gaffes I will never know. Anyways I feel for the guy he does try. I gave him a 6.5.
Meireles was the main reason Alves was exposed so much, let's face the facts he is a great midfielder slotted in behind the AM but as DM he is a nightmare.. he tries to cover too much ground in attacking and defending. It leads to huge holes and then he defends so poorly that it makes everything else so much worse. I hearken back to South Korea the last time I seen such pathetic DM work then Petit and I think Beto destroyed us. Sure against weak opposition Meireles can play the DM but against the top teams or strong defensive ones that counter.. he is a nightmare.. and should be rated - R for return to sender. 6.5
Coentrao who is usually excellent on D was also dragged into the DM mess early and was caught out twice before he made the adjustment and then improved. He for me looked tired and didn't have one of his better games, but you could see he was fighting through it and used his brain to compensate and by the end was one of the better players for sure. A real fighter.. 8.5
Pereira too had his worst game for Bento his passing was horrible but the link up play with Nani was good and his defending was decent and sometimes that is all you need with too many attackers. Just someone to defend. 7.5
Then we get to Moutinho who most in the room I was in thought he had an atrocious game.. and I could definitely see what they were talking about.. half of the game was just that brutal, but he also peppered in a high work rate and some decent passes. I think because he ended so poorly that was the last thing left in the mind of everyone watching. 7.5
As for the subs I had some issues with Bento.
In my mind I was thinking guarantee the game at that point.. I wanted Varela in for Postiga early to run onto balls.. I was thinking bring in Rolando for Martins.. slide Pepe to DM to solidify the middle and negate the counter attack. Then you have one sub left to play with either for more D or more attack.. In this case it might have been attack.. so I would've brought on either Almeida to sit next to Varela or Danny to take over the wheelhouse in the middle.. with Moutinho going off.
Bento was thinking total offence and against good teams that could be of concern.. although Norway definitely were just trying to not allow more and counter.
I would've liked to see Varela on earlier because he is a very smart player and you could see that when he was on making the smart move not the flashy one with some great passes.. something both Nani and CR could learn from, but he doesn't defend great and that was also on evidence at times.. although he did try to defend.. something also N & CR can learn.
Micael didn't do much although he did commit 2 fouls... and Silvio who I like I just thought was the wrong guy to bring on. He played as FB/Winger/Striker as he was running into the box on the offence looking for a pass. It made me quite nervous actually knowing the holes that were at the back.. and how great Norway counters.. fortunately Norway pulled off Carew by that point as he loves to attack from Silvio's side.
But none of that is really Silvio's fault that is the type of player he is.. I just thought it was a weird selection by Bento, especially when the kid is trying to get a huge deal in Europe.. of course he is going to try to score.. in the Team sense it might not have been the best move.
Fortunately for us.. Bento is still the man when it comes to qualifying.. so he can do whatever he wants.. as long as it works.. I will grumble and bow to his genius because paper results are not the same as actual game results. Something Queiroz could learn from.
Overall team wise Portugal played pretty smart and didn't allow too many free kicks and even better they only gave up one corner it was very astute move as a group.
Forca Portugal the challenge next is Cyprus away.. not an easy task at all considering the oppositions record of making life extremely difficult for top teams on their turf. This is where history shows that Portugal stumbles over confidently against the minnows.
If we are being objective the only player that had a great game was Pepe - the fact that he made Carew a non-factor shows how great he was. Eduardo was great when he had to be - but it wasn't particularly busy for him. Coentrao was once again, very very good - but he lacked a bit when we got down close to Norway's goal.
Everyone else was just "good" - including Carlos Martins. I don't watch every liga game, so I don't really have any biases for or against anyone. What I saw yesterday was a guy who worked his butt off - left every single bit of himself on the field and actually had a good attempt at goal.
Guys this is supposed to be our national team - bringing your liga biases in assessments of players performances is just plain wrong.
Bryan SCB - did you get any joy out of watching the game? Your assessment of Martins' performance reads like you only watched him and noted every single misstep. Kinda sad if you ask me - the guy is putting on a jersey for the country you claim to support...your country. Give the guy a break, he may play for a club team you hate, but he plays for your country...or do you come from the "country of Braga FC"? (which to my knowledge isn't part of the European Union).
Seriously guy, you are sounding more and more like Orlando Mac/Supreme Gino with each post.
As for Supreme Gino - saying Nani was the best crosser pretty much sums up his match assessments. Nani was a threat down the wing for sure, but his crosses and decision making were below his normal standards. He made the cross on the one goal, but the rest of his game was just "okay".
Look, yesterday's game wasn't a brilliant performance - but there are lessons to be learned.
1) the thing I liked most was that the team stayed together - they didn't lose their heads when they were being frustrated in the first half, I think we have seen a few meltdowns in the past. The players kept their cool and their composure and kept working the game plan - to stay patient.
2) in game adjustments - the strategy changed in the second half. Crosses, like on Postiga's goal were along the ground, with players trying to get in deeper and closer to goal, rather than high crosses that weren't working the first half.
3) Selections - I admit that I was a bit surprised that Postiga got the call, and Martins for that matter, but it speaks to the depth of squad Bento feels he has. It is a good thing when there is a surprise of two - it keeps everyone sharp and shows that you come to training to work. Also, I liked that Bento got Micael some quality minutes - if this guy is going to be part of our future, he needs to get quality minutes in pressure games...so big time kudos to Bento for seeing that.
Bryan you can choose to be miserable about yesterday's game because a player from your most hated team played...I'll just enjoy the win and look forward to Cyprus.
most of the plays came from nani/periera probably all part of plan considering CR usually gets crowded out to be playmaker. but thats what made it bit boring. during the iceland, spain and argentina matches CR was the playmeker and portugal did a lot of one touch passing but with pace and speed so the games were exciting. but yesterday's game slowed down a lot and they were trying to do too many passes infront of the goal. just shoot the ball.
i am just they won and are at top of the table.
@ Mark, Hugo Viana is not a CAM, he's a defensive mid as is Custodio. How on earth you think it's the same thing I don't understand. However, I'll keep saying it Mossoro would be playing if he was Portuguese. Carlos Martins is a serious joke and almost cost us the game with his turnovers. It's practically impossible to sit and defend Martins.
Of course, the extreme Benfica fans will deny deny and deny because he plays for Benfica but the truth remains. Carlos Martins consistently is the worst player on the field for Portugal. How biased can you guys be? I'm not hating on him because he's Benfica I'm hating because he sucks. Plain and simple. I would much rather have David Simao in there instead and I've already said that. Sure he lacks experience but he's more mobile.
I completely disagree with Mdot who is claiming Martins is "reliable" because you can't count on Martins to do anything besides take up space or lose the ball when you need it the most. I would argue he's unreliable. He hasn't done anything of value to the team at all.
We really miss Deco in the CAM role, and it showed last night. I'm just hoping somebody steps up from here ( Micael Machado or Danny) and I'm betting that Carlos Martins hasn't convinced Bento either since Martins was the first to exit the game. If Micael or Danny don't step up I wouldn't mind Marcio Mossoro taking up portuguese citizenship like Liedson did. We need an CAM with vision, speed and energy and unfortunately we won't be getting that from Martins. After seeing that embarrassing performance by Martins, I wouldn't mind seeing a 33 year old Deco back in action.
Some trolls have hate on Martins because he's from Benfica. He may not be the best player in the world but the team has done well with him in the mid-field. Hell I remember BryanSCB on here bashing Fabio being called up and eventually people stopped paying attention to him and he moved on to his next Benfica target. Martins did well when we demolished Spain and he's added value to the team every game. He's not the star player but he's reliable and we need players like that on our squad.
What the hell did Martins do so well? If I remember correctly he couldn't even hold the ball. He kept losing it and forcing Portugal to stop a dangerous counter attack. Moreover, he can't carry the ball either. He kept on tripping and falling. He's horrible. I would actually argue that I'm now worried more about the CAM position then the striker role. I can't believe that we miss Deco so much but it's true. We miss Deco.
For the guy that claims Martins is better than any Braga player? Dude, if Marcio Mossoro was portuguese we wouldn't have a CAM problem to begin with.
I'm in the Nani had a poor game camp - his decision making is just terrible sometimes and the he kept giving the ball away but at least he done something positive and got the assist, so we'll let him off on this ocassion.
I thought Ronaldo was disappointing by his very, very high standards but I wouldn't say he had a bad game.
Postinka....I thought he struggled to get into the game and I thought a more physical presence would have been better suited to playing against the likes of Hangeland. But he scored an excellent goal and yeah, like Nene said, maybe he can be our Klose or David Healy - Rubbish at club level but a genius playing for their country.
I think its too early to say we are on our way to the Euros, the group is still tight and the last game away in Denmark will be huge.
In the honeymoon period under Bento we beat Iceland and Denmark easily and thrashed Spain but our recent performances haven't been as good so I still think there is a lot of work to do to get to Poland & Ukraine.
PLAYER RATING
Pepe 10 This guy is improving all the time,Jomo effect
Alves 8 played soild, every ball in the air he owned
Nani 6 other then that cross for the only goal Nani looked terrible! duno if he is doubting himself after being left on the bench against Barca
Postiga 8 disappeared for a bit but made something from nothing to score and give Portugal 3 massive points.I prefer Postiga over Hugo because he is more mobile
João Pereira 7 looked ok but there is room for improvement
Eduardo - touched the ball twice
Ronaldo 7 free kicks were dangerous,some good runs but CR7 looked tired
Coentrao 8 always plays with his heart! good luck at Real!
Carlos Martins 6 should not be starting ,he didnt impose himself at all
Raul Meireles 7 made some good connecting passes but wastes opportunities by shooting from no mans land frequently
João Moutinho 7 played good but not great. Portugal needs a play maker like Rui Costa hopefully Moutinho can be a proper # 10
Did anybody else notice that Bento looked like a crack head on the sidelines? Any update on Carvalho's injury?
Moutinho, Martins, and Meireles completely controlled the tempo, and played some beautiful soccer, but they lacked the cutting edge in the final third (something Danny would give them).
Pereira could have been better going forward, but he defended pretty well. Coentrao was great going forward, but he was caught out of position a few times. Alves was solid and Pepe was brilliant. Pepe and Postiga were the men of the match.
Nani was again far more dangerous than CR7, though he got tired late and made too many turnovers. CR7 ironically had problems being a little too unselfish, which I almost never say about him. Moutinho did quite well in driving a transition game - intercepting and sending the team in the opposite direction. I didn't think Martins was that terrible, save when he was on the wing. (But then I expect little from him.)
The fans seemed bored and should have been in it more. Pereira really needs to cross better than that, but he's still on of our best RB options. This team made me way too nervous for giving up the late goal, lacking the killer instincts and touch to finish Norway off.
a draw in the next NOR/DEN would make it a bit easier although not by much since Portugal would still need to get a draw in Denmark....
that said, at least now Portugal controls its own destiny....
unless of course they decide to give away points again against Cyprus & Iceland....
The defence was fine. Alves got away with a certain penalty. Pepe made a BIG interception. I didnt see much of Pereira but Coentrao made runs forward on each opportunity good effort from him.
I think Moutinho had a great game.. solid in possession and great accuracy on the passes. Then again Martins was horrible. Most of his passes/shots were blocked and he lost the ball one too many times. He sucks plain and simple.
Nani was good, best crosser on the team imo. CR played well but not by his standards. Unlucky on the free kick/header but you can't say he didnt try. Postiga thanks for the goal but otherwise a flop.. common among portuguese strikers but that goal was crucial so thanks again.
The crowd was so dead. Cmon guys that was pathetic. We need real supporters at these games. I'm just thankful that we won and were back on top where we belong.
PS
Braga is done next year lol