The ephemerides deserved and demanded a triumph. On the day that eight years have passed since Fernando Santos was presented as national team manager, none other than the victory over Rep. Czech Republic (4-0) to celebrate the moment and leave Portugal to rely only on themselves to qualify for the last four of the League of Nations. Now all they need is a draw on Tuesday against Spain, who lost to Switzerland today (1-2).
Today, in Prague, in a game in which Portugal showed good dynamics (in possession, control and in moments of pressure), the players of Manchester United (and Diogo Dalot in particular, as he scored two goals) were the protagonists of a triumph that put the squad in first place in the group, taking advantage of that Spanish defeat.
Portugal took the field with six of the seven players at risk of being banned from the game against Spain. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Danilo, William and Rafael Leão could not see (and saw) a yellow card so as not to miss this final and decisive game. There were no savings, but there were changes. Without the suspended João Cancelo, Diogo Dalot took over the right side of the defence. On the other hand, Mário Rui was chosen, in a defense that Danilo had as a colleague of Rúben Dias. William played as a defensive midfielder and Rafael Leão was Cristiano Ronaldo’s attacking partner, who gave Portugal quite a scare in the 14th minute.
The captain collided with the Czech goalkeeper and was badly treated, causing him to bleed heavily from his nose. He eventually returned to the game and it was his first chance (or first missed, depending on your point of view) to score. CR7 didn’t hit the ball well and missed an excellent opportunity to bring the team on the scoreboard, after a well-made move by the Portuguese midfield.
The Czechs showed some initiative in the game to force Portugal to defend with a line of five – Rúben Neves came between Danilo and Rúben Dias – to steal spaces from Patrick Schick and his company in search of goal. The reaction of the Czech number 7 was the same as that of the Portuguese number 7. Antonín Barák missed the deflection towards Diogo Costa’s goal and so the 0-0 remained on the scoreboard for another two minutes… until Diogo Dalot the Portuguese moved.
The move was confusing but effective. Ronaldo missed a pass from Bruno Fernandes, but Rafael Leão did not give up and served the squad, who made his debut to score for the national team and in the game in which he made his debut in the League of Nations. The goal shocked the Czechs and Portugal took the opportunity to make it 2-0, in another unlikely move, with Bruno Fernandes appearing in the heart of the area to finish on a pass from Mário Rui. The Portuguese team thus led the way with two goals and with the particularity that both were scored by players of Manchester United.
Dalot’s goal reassured the Portuguese
Before halftime, Ronaldo made another specter. Unconsciously, the captain put his hand in front of his face, perhaps trying to protect the already battered face, and cut the ball in the area with his hand. The referee ruled (with the help of VAR) that there was an upward movement and awarded a penalty. Called to score, Patrick Schick failed and the Portuguese side kept the two goals before the break.
Controlling the ball through possession was the solution to keep the lead on the scoreboard. Everyone knew that the Czechs didn’t need a lot of ball to create and fulfill opportunities and they went full steam ahead in the second half with four men in the area.
Fernando Santos did not let go of the worried air, but on the pitch the team delivered the message and Diogo Dalot showed that the night was his, with a beautiful goal: a shot over 30 yards from the goal that calmed everyone and allowed the coach to enter management mode for the game with the Spaniards. Ronaldo stayed until the end and even served Diogo Jota for the final 4-0.
And so Portugal won comfortably and without feeling the sacking of Rafa Silva.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)
Source: DN
