Portugal 1-1 Algeria
In the last match of the Olympic group stages, an already qualified Portuguese side faced what was an already knocked-out Algeria. With the intention of preserving certain players for the quarter finals, Rui Jorge made several changes to the side: adding Pedro Henrique to the backline (changing Sporting’s Esgaio to his preferred right full back position) and bringing Carlos Mané, Chico Ramos, Tiago Silva and Pité into midfield.
The group’s first spot was up for grabs, though, which led this renewed side to start off strong with a very active Carlos Mané stirring up trouble in the Algerian defense.
With that said, the African side wanted to leave the tournament under a positive result and started off just as strong, which led to an open match during most of the first half. The first of many chances came in the 13th minute, when an Algerian header made Varela fly. As the match progressed it got more and more aggressive – you could barely tell it was a “meaningless” match with how much the Algerians wanted every ball. The fouls started accumulating and eventually Esgaio received a yellow – one of the main reasons why he was replaced by Fonseca at half time.
In a quick counter, Mané was knocked down by the African goalkeeper which led to a penalty that our goalscorer converted. Paciência made it three in three matches and will be looking to improve that record in the quarter finals. The celebrations didn’t last, though, since Algeria scored just five minutes later. Portugal wasn’t defending the same way they’ve been doing in the past matches and a lot of open spaces through the middle led to a well built Algerian goal.
The second half changed a lot of things, but not the result. The European side started defending a lot more correctly and the switch into a 4-3-3 definitely helped. Without the starting midfield it’s a lot more difficult to keep a balanced diamond 4-4-2. During the entire second half the Algerians pressured the Portuguese defence, sending both full backs forward continuously and creating several chances. On the other end of the pitch Pité was the main creator during the second half with a couple of good shots from the edge of the box. As time went on, Portugal controlled more and more of the match. Despite the late effort from Meziane that went over the bar, the 1-1 was kept and was enough for our boys to get first place in the group. Two wins away from a medal.
by Tiago Estêvão
Portugal: Varela, Esgaio, Ié, Ilori, Henrique, Podstawski, Chico Ramos, Tiago Silva, Carlos Mané, Pité, Gonçalo Paciência
Algeria: Methazem, Benguit, Rebiai, Bendebka, Ferhani, Benkablia, Benkhemassa, Draodjahui, Meziane, Darfalou, Bounedja
Goals: Paciência (25’, pen) and Benkablia (30’)
