Portugal’s U21 squad were unable to make their chances count against Sweden in the final of the European Championship and eventually lost to a well-organised and more determined Swedish side.
However, there were plenty of positives in Portugal’s second-place finish. Players like William Carvalho, Bernardo Silva and José Sá showed the world what they could do and likely took a significant step forward in their careers.
PortuGoal looks at five things we learned from Portugal’s performance at the U21 European Championship.
José Sá will be Marítimo’s starting goalkeeper in the near future
A mainstay on the squad since the beginning of qualification, the 22-year-old has been one of Portugal’s most consistent performers. He made some quality saves against England and Italy in the group stages and without him, Portugal may not have gone as far as they did.
Sá conceded only one goal in five matches in the tournament. He spent most of this past season with Marítimo’s B squad, making only three appearances at senior level. But it appears likely that he will get his opportunity sooner rather than later.
Benfica will regret letting Bernardo Silva leave
Silva was loaned to Ligue 1’s nouveau riche club AS Monaco at the beginning of this past season. The French club made the deal permanent in January, exercising a €15m option. The deal came as a surprise to some in France because he had only been used sparingly by manager Leonardo Jardim until that point.
However, an excellent second half of the season, combined with his performance at this tournament, makes this deal seem like a bargain. Now many of Europe’s top clubs are reportedly interested in the 20-year-old. It seems likely that even Monaco will not be able to keep him for much longer.
William Carvalho is ready for a new challenge
The Sporting midfielder had a breakthrough season in 2013/14, which earned him a spot on Portugal’s World Cup squad in Brazil. He was an indomitable force in midfield from start to finish and was eventually named the Best Player at the tournament.
Carvalho led the tournament in minutes played, attempted passes and completed passes. He was also fouled a tournament-high 12 times, a statistic that reflects just how dominant he was. A product of Sporting’s famed academy, Carvalho is set for a big money move.
Gonçalo Paciência could be the quality striker Portugal desperately needs
The FC Porto striker made three substitute appearances in the tournament, scoring a goal in the group stage match against eventual winners Sweden. Paciência provided Portugal with a strong aerial presence in the box, which was seriously lacking. He also dropped back to midfield at times to help recover possession.
Paciência has a clear path to the senior squad, partly due to Portugal’s lack of quality options at the position. However, he will likely need to establish himself at club level first. And that is where things are less clear with Alberto Bueno and Vincent Aboubakar ahead of him at Porto in the pecking order for now.
Portuguese fans have much reason for optimism
Despite the loss in the final, the overall campaign represented a massive improvement on recent results at this level. Portugal had failed to qualify for the three previous tournaments. Combined with a positive performance at last year’s U19 European Championships, and most recently at the U20 World Cup, it seems that the future is very bright.
The qualification stage has already started for the 2017 tournament which will take place in Poland. Portugal is once again expected to have a strong squad with the likes of João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Rúben Neves, Iuri Medeiros, Carlos Mané, Gonçalo Paciência, Marcos Lopes, Tomás Podstawski and André Silva all eligible to play.
By Rui Miguel Martins
For more from Rui (twitter: @futebolfactory) check out Futebolfactory.com.
