Job done! Portugal into last sixteen
Portugal 0-0 Brazil
 It was far from pretty for long periods, but Portugal are in the knockout phase of the World Cup after a bruising goalless draw against Brazil. Eduardo pulled off two terrific saves to deny Nilmar and Ramires in each half, but Raul Meireles could have stolen a win for Portugal.
Carlos Queiroz sprung a surprise by making four changes to the side that had so impressively swept aside North Korea on Monday. Ricardo Costa came in at right-back, Pepe made his long-awaited return in place of Pedro Mendes, while Danny and Duda were given the nod ahead of Simao and Hugo Almeida.
From the start it was evident Portugal were satisfied to concede the initiative to the five-time World Champions, leaving only Cristiano Ronaldo up front and trying to hit Brazil on the break.
Coentrao shines again
The opening exchanges brought to the fore a fascinating battle between marauding Brazilian right-back Maicon and Portugal’s stand-out player so far in South Africa, Fabio Coentrao. Yet again, the Benfica man showed remarkable maturity and banished any lingering doubts that the Seleccao have another world-class player among their ranks.
As well as thwarting Maicon on numerous occasions, Coentrao set in motion an excellent counter-attack in the 18th minute, that ended with Tiago slicing his volley wide from the edge of the box.
Shortly afterwards there was a controversial moment as Duda picked up the ball and played an exceptional pass over the top for Ronaldo to run on to, only for Juan to pluck the ball out of the air with a raised arm. The Brazilian centre-back was shown a yellow card when it could easily have been red, and so vehement were Duda’s protests that he himself was shown a yellow.
Eduardo to the rescue
Brazil hit back and came within a whisker of taking the lead on the half hour mark. Ricardo Costa was guilty of ball watching as a harmless looking cross meandered across the box. Nilmar stole in at the second post and seemed certain to score but Eduardo did superbly to throw himself at the ball and tip it onto the post.
Play switched to the other end of the pitch and a decent Portugal break nearly played Tiago in, only for the hero of North Korea to inexplicably take a dive when well placed to shoot and pick up a yellow card for his troubles.
However, it was Brazil who were having the better of the play, and they again came close to scoring in the 39th minute as slack defending from Meireles allowed Maicon to swing in a cross which the onrushing Fabiano headed narrowly wide.
Fiery tackling
As the interval approached there was little evidence of the fraternal ties between the two countries as heavy challenges continued to fly in from both sides, with Dunga forced to take off Felipe Melo for fear of the defensive midfielder picking up a second yellow card.
The second half saw a Portugal with more attacking intent, especially after Simao came on for Duda. The Atletico Madrid winger put in his best performance for some time in a Portugal shirt, causing Brazil’s rearguard several moments of panic.
Meireles chance
Just before the hour mark Portugal’s improvement was so nearly rewarded with a goal. Ronaldo showed excellent skill, strength and speed to break from the half-way line into the box. A panicky Lucio interception skidded across goal and fell right into the path of Meireles, but the Porto man could not direct his shot in from point-blank range, perhaps opting incorrectly to use his right foot, with Julio Cesar doing just enough to keep the ball out.
With the clock ticking down both teams appeared satisfied with the draw, until a dramatic stoppage time period saw a close thing at each end. First Brazilian substitute Ramires fired in a shot that took a wicked deflection, forcing Eduardo into a magnificent diving save at full stretch.
As Portugal broke for one last attack, a mix-up in the Brazil defence almost let in Danny, but again Julio Cesar leapt courageously at the forward’s feet to deny Portugal a dramatic winner.
All in all Carlos Queiroz and his players will be happy to have qualified from a section many dubbed “the group of death” with relative ease, and will now sit back and watch tonight’s matches to see who out of Spain, Chile or Switzerland they will face on Tuesday night.
by Tom Kundert
Portugal:
Eduardo, Ricardo Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Bruno Alves, Fabio Coentrao, Pepe (Pedro Mendes, 64), Raul Meireles (Veloso, 84), Tiago, Duda (Simao, 54), Danny, Cristiano Ronaldo
Yellow Cards: Duda, Tiago, Pepe, Fabio Coentrao
Brazil:
Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Michel Bastos, Daniel Alves, Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo (Joseu, 44), Nilmar, Luis Fabiano (Grafite, 85), Julio Baptista (Ramires, 82)
Yellow Cards: Fabiano, Juan, Felipe Melo
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One thing the match highlighted was our lack of striking talent . With Almeida on a booking and Liedson lacking the height or strength to trouble the Brasil back line , we had to resort to using Ronaldo as the striker and this just doesn't work . We should have taken a 3rd striker just to give us more options .
Coentrao was fantastic again , up against Miacon and Alves he was superb and i doubt if Benfica will be holding on to him for too long .
We've played 3 matches and qualified from the "group of death" with relative ease so you have to respect CQ for getting his tactics right , even though his line-ups do leave us scratching our heads at times .
A lot of people doubted we'd even get this far but we have , Spain will be hard but they are not the same side of 2008 and have a few players who are carrying injuries so we have a chance and if we do get through who knows how far we can go .
We shouldn't be scared of anyone at this WC
Let's enjoy this people
Forca !!!
Forca Portugal
RAKIB : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
I know the mentality why play your full roster.. because a loss would've dropped team confidence. He switched out many so even in loss there would be an excuse. My problem with him is that he plans the exit route. Now we are going to face the best teams in the competition all the way to the final. George easier road?
In a way that is good because CQ doesn't have to motivate his team, the opposition will do that.
I will give him some credit though some of these decisions are good others are simply confounding.
I said it last year and took some flack for saying that Coentrao was not only a good offensive player but what I had seen was a pretty solid defender. Many laughed and chided the Benfiquistas that proclaimed the same. Where are all these folks now? Coentrao is simply one of the best left backs in the world and he just started. This kid is Fab and has been on showcase here, much to improve still but once he learns to shoot he will be even more deadly.
Joa makes a great point about Pepe getting a run out as we will need him both defensively & in the air offensively as the tournament heats up.
E Gomes is spot on with his comments about a rough game & player selection.
Justin also wisely makes the point that most champions need to have a great defence.. Italy is prime example of that.. going forward we look amazing as long as Miguel is at right back. What was CQ thinking Ricardo Costa blew many a play.. and they all almost caught us. If any undoing it will be because of the lack of consistency at RB.. fortunately Brazil couldn't beat Eduardo, but Spain will definitely test us there.
Cheers must also go out to Duane the Jamaichop at heart. Welcome aboard.. my nephews are Triniguese thanx for the West Indies support.
All in all I think CQ had the right concept but played the wrong players, in the end it did not cost us so all is good.
I think sometimes he tries to be too smart, but I do believe that with this lot of players they have the quality to overcome all his shortcomings, even when he pulls the wrong trigger. They have proved that throughout Ferreira being burned with IC was well covered in the middle, Ricardo Costa today was well covered by Eduardo who was world beating.
A final comment.. Dan Bosingwa is great going forward but defending he is no better than Ferreira, he just doesn't defend with the pace he attacks with and is awfully soft in the middle.
Overall good performance in the game for the formation given, and proved once again this Portugal team can compete with any, even without our starters. Whoever those guys may be..lol
I much rather have went the route of winning the side and having the hardest competition being the Netherlands.
Because he went for the draw, tactically speaking, we now have to face Spain in the Round of 16. If he would have elected to play Almeida, his size and strength would have forced Lucio to play him straight up freeing Ronaldo for easier runs. I would have played Miguel, too; would have allowed for an offensively orientated back to make runs himself. I wonder how many people are going to be kicking themselves over a lack of ambition if we lose against Spain? A draw is not bad, but, we need to be confident and in a groove going forward. The team looked discombobulated on offense.
I wasn't happy with the line up. Danny was poor and CR7 should be on the wing, its that simple. Also Duda was rubbish.
I understand that CQ wanted to keep it pretty tight and he did. But there was no reason why we couldn't have won this game.
Liedson should have played & CR7 should have slotted in to Danny's position.
With that said I expect that CQ to put out the same line up against DPR Korea for Spain with possibly Pepe in place of Mendes.
We're going to play Spain now and they're a lot better than when we beat them in 2004 but its possible.
All the teams Portugal generally struggle against are gone, France, Italy. So this tournament is there for the taking.
If we can beat Spain we can meet Paraguay QF then maybe Germany/England Semi.
Lets hope CR7 starts hitting some real goals,becuase we need him now.
Forca!
FORCA PORTUGAL!!!
It's only our 3rd time ever advancing into the knockout stages of the World Cup. I'm not saying we should be happy to be here, but it's an accomplishment in itself. I think the team will be well rested and well prepared for the showdown with our neighbors. Should be an excellent match and much more entertaining than today.
MOTM: Eduardo, F. Coentrao
And let us all drink to that today.
All in all we did great i was gripping my mini scarf tight and kissing Nossa Senhora Dos Milagres pendant numerous times. My heart did not stop pounding away like a cop pounding away on a criminals door! Cant wait to see who we battle next!
Danny your letting me down man!! come on i have belief in you, you can take the world if you just show the desire and fire and ambition that you need to be great.
Our midfield needs to be more concentrated in the oppositions half, we have good possessional play but once we get into the last third we lose concentration and over hit the ball or miss control....unforced errors are not acceptable with the talent the team has.
Ricardo Costa and Duda should not play...and boy do i wish Nani was there...we wouldve won today with Nani.
We will revert to our attacking football in the next round and i am very confident whether it be Spain or Chile or Switzerland.
Oh......RONALDO SHOULD ONLY PLAY ON THE WING
FORZA PORTUGAL!!!!!..and this is coming from a Jamaican by the way :D
Good sign to see Pepe play an hour and absorb some hard fouls and still fight on. Coentrao continues to be excellent and like he said he isnt afraid to take on anybody. Great defending from him and good in the attack once again. I think Queiroz did well to manage everybody who was playing with yellows and I did like his approach. If we tried to open it up to much it could of been another 6-2. Good result and no matter if its Chile, Swiss, Spain they are quality sides and we are capable of beating anybody. As ronaldo has said agora e mata-mata and now its on. Job Well PERORMED. FORCA FORCA FORCA PORTUGAL!!!!
i am very impressed with coentrao and simao they played very well. ronaldo was put in a striker position and he wasnt doing his job at all. he was all over the field. ronaldo should stay put at front of goal not at the halfway line it wasnt his duty to help others it was just to be a striker and score goals or push their defense back. the problem with ronaldo is that he wants to do whatever he wants period. i expected a better performance by danny and tiago. duda wasnt so good. costa was ok.
I thrilled with another clean sheet adn eduardo came up big when needed.Remember he deflected the ball that hit the post.
The changes in the lineup really meant nothing since we got the draw.
What we did should have learned is that Costa shouldn't see the field again. Duda is doing just fine on the bench. Coentrao is up to the job. And most important Queiroa should have seen, AGAIN, that putting Cristiano up top is the wrong move. It's just to easy to neutralize the team, that way.
Pepe was rusty, but he got a nice run in, and could on;y improve.
The fact is that the next match won't be easy, no matter if it's Spain, Chile or the Swiss.
Next game, need to move Ronaldo back to wing and let him create some magic with Coentrao.
*This is the very 1st time Eduardo was tested seriously and he proved his worth today.
*This is the 1st time after 1978 Brazil fail to score in a WC match.So Isn't it a great achievement as a defensive bunch
*We really create some great chance with counter attacks .
* Coentrao Was great as always in this tournament. if he was too good for Micon I don't think there are too many Right backs to trouble this gem of player in the world at the moment.
*Concentrate level of the midfield was in a very high level through out the entire match.
Forca Portugal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE can beet any body any body.
We saw why our new hero Mierles can be frustrating .. .should have shot with his left.
Danny has potential but seems to rush things a bit and could have done better.
- Pepe did okay and looks like he my contribute in the later rounds.
- Ricardo Costa is scary but did not do make too many mistakes. First Eduardo save was because of Costa's ball watching and lost the man. I am sure we will see Miguel next game. Spare us from Paulo F.
- Fabio C shows his growing class once again ... we have a LB.
- Eduardo was good in goal, we may have a GK finally.
-CR made some good runs, wish he would have passed few times in the first half but overall I thought he compete well making the physical Lucio work.
Overall, happy not to lose to Brazil ... knock outs are brutal and cruel we have what it takes to grind out victories but it will be very difficult given our scoring options are a bit limited.
I just agree with Sergio. The right back is still a problem. Don't understand this formation. Was there a forward? I didn't see one, except some unacceptable long range shoots from Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the end we might miss Nuno Gomes
this match is ugly in my opinion. the best counter attack also made by coentrao. he's getting better and better..
cristiano ronaldo still finding out how to solve his problem on ball control and passing..he lose his quality. in fact his free kick inconsistent.btw,next game must be all out.
forca portugal.
After this performance we know we can contain quality teams while still creating chances off the counter.
So yes, we learned a lot from today.
FORCA PORTUGAL!
Stop moaning!!!
We were perfect!!!t
THE BRAZILIANS were playing to win!they were frustrated!we proved that nobody can beat us!especially with the outstanding performance of Eduardo, Coentrao and Ronaldo!we were able to win!but this is not what we must have! watching spain going out today or second in the group will easily help us to reach the semi final with no hard opponent!!FORCA PORTUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLL!!!
In three games, we were able to stalemate two quality teams and trounce a minor league team. So which team are we? The offensive machine or the pragmatists?
Now we have to hope that they can "turn it on" again in the knock-out round.