Eight years, 100 games, two titles. This Thursday, against the Czech Republic, Fernando Santos reached one hundred matches as national coach and with the resume of having been the first and only coach to win trophies in the service of Portugal. A background that, even so, has no comparison with the nervousness he felt the first time he heard the national anthem as leader of the National Team.
“The highlight of these 100 games was my first game with the national team. There would never be 100 if there wasn’t the first. It was truly the most memorable of all. Being in charge of my country’s team… That first day is always exciting. I barely remember the first game, actually. It confused me a bit, it must be one of the few that I don’t have a clear idea of the game. And I, who normally have an elephant’s memory, as my players say, say that I remember almost everything. I just remember not being able to sing the anthem, I remember it well. It was the most memorable match”, said Fernando Santos prior to the reception to the Czech Republic, remembering the particular match against France, in September 2014 and in Paris.
At the time, at Saint-Denis, goals from Benzema and Pogba were enough to overcome the penalty converted by Quaresma and dictated the French victory. Less than two years later, again in Saint-Denis, a goal from Éder was enough to overcome France and give Portugal Euro 2016 and the first title in history. Now, in 2022, at the gates of a new World Cup and after a few weeks in which he suffered an unprecedented challenge since he was national coach, Fernando Santos no longer has problems singing the anthem. And the Seleção no longer has a problem accepting that it is a candidate for victory in the Nations League.
This Thursday, in Alvalade, Portugal received the Czech Republic and disputed the isolated leadership of Group 2 of League A of the League of Nations after the tie with Spain and the win against Switzerland. Against the Czechs, who had also beaten the Swiss and also tied with the Spanish, Fernando Santos left Domingos Duarte, Matheus Nunes and Ricardo Horta out of the squad and once again opted for Cristiano Ronaldo, a substitute against Spain but already a starter against Switzerland. Diogo Costa returned to goal after the choice of Rui Patrício in the last match, William Carvalho and Rúben Neves kept the title in midfield and Bruno Fernandes and Otávio started on the bench, with Gonçalo Guedes appearing in attack alongside Ronaldo and Diogo Jota. On the left of the defence, Raphael Guerreiro was once again the option to the detriment of Nuno Mendes.
⌚️35′ FOR 1-0 CZE
?????????Pepe reaches 127 appearances and equals ????????Luís Figo as the 3rd most capped player in Portugal:
189 ????????? Cristiano Ronaldo
145 ?????????Joao Moutinho
127 ?????????Pepe ↗️
127 ?????????fig pic.twitter.com/r6pQ5oQLNi— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) June 9, 2022
On the pitch, he soon realized that Portugal would take control of the match. The National Team played from the midfield line, taking advantage of the fact that the Czech Republic was quite far back, and it was easy to press and recover the ball quickly. However, the Czechs lined up en bloc in the final third and made it difficult for the Portuguese to find space, nullifying possible combinations between full-backs and forwards and leading Fernando Santos’s team to look for many centers that did not have great consequences.
The first shot came in the 10th minute, through Rúben Neves and to the side (10′), and Cristiano Ronaldo finished off Staněk shortly after (15′). However, from the first quarter of an hour, The Czech Republic began to climb the lines and seek offensive transition when they got the ball back, forcing Portugal to play more cautiously and with greater defensive concerns. Diametrically, the rise of the Czechs on the pitch also opened up some spaces at the back, something that gave the National Team greater freedom to explore individual and collective creativity. At that moment, Sadílek had a good opportunity to open the scoring, with a shot against the post (17′), and Kuchta forced Diogo Costa to make the best save of the match so far by appearing in the face of the FC Porto goalkeeper . (31′).
⌚️Rank: BY 2-0 CZE
???????Bernardo Silva reaches 19 assists with the National Team.
It is the third game that makes more than 2 assists in a game:
vs ?????????Czekia, C (Nations League)
vs ????????Lithuania, F (Euro 2020 Qualifying)
vs ????????Gibraltar, C (Friendly) pic.twitter.com/Yvk3JTT3YM— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) June 9, 2022
Shortly after, Portugal scored. In one of the first times in which the National Team managed to unlock the Czech barrier, Bernardo timed on the line and cleared Cancelo, who went ahead into the area and finished off with a strong cross to open the scoring (33′). The combination between the two Manchester City players was the best in the Portuguese exhibition so far, especially due to the individual performance well above the average of both. and ended up bearing fruit shortly after half an hour. Five minutes later, the second goal appeared. Bernardo received a gap on the right and again found space where it did not seem to exist to unmark Gonçalo Guedes, who finished off with the first shot to increase the lead (38′).
Thus, at the break, Portugal beat the Czech Republic in Alvalade and essentially had an extraordinary display of Bernardo Silva, who knew how to dismantle an opposing defense that tried not to accommodate the ideas of the most creative Portuguese. In opposition, because not everything was perfect, William Carvalho was performing well below that shown against Switzerland, when he was one of the best elements on the field.
????????? INTERVAL | ????????? Portugal 2-0 Czech Republic ???????
???? The game started withered…
???? … but Bernardo Silva released the bugs# PORCZE #UNL #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/42Z3e7MdHn— GoalPoint.pt (@_Goalpoint) June 9, 2022
The Czech Republic made three substitutions at half-time, releasing Jemelka, Jurečka and Pešek, and the match dragged on with few features and also poor quality. Portugal dominated with the ball and with rare approaches on goal, benefiting greatly from the total inability of the Czechs to cause danger in the Portuguese final third. The first opportunity of the second half only appeared after the hour of play, with Jurečka shooting to the side after a quick transition (60′), and Diogo Jota responded immediately with a kick to Staněk’s figure (61′).
With just over 20 minutes to go, Fernando Santos moved for the first time and swapped William and Bernardo for Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha. Cristiano Ronaldo continues to shoot for Staněk to fit in (71′), the Czechs made one more change and Rafael Leão, João Palhinha and João Moutinho also had minutes, replacing the tired Diogo Jota, Rúben Neves and Gonçalo Guedes. As a result, however, nothing has changed.
????????? 60′ | ????????? Portugal 2-0 Czech Republic ???????
Ruben Neves ??????? he is the player on the field who recovered the most possession (6) but also the one who lost the most (11)# PORCZE #UNL #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/h0Tu18EYj7
— GoalPoint.pt (@_Goalpoint) June 9, 2022
Portugal beat the Czech Republic in Alvalade and is now at the head of Group 2 of League A of the League of Nations, with seven points against five for Spain, who beat Switzerland in Geneva, and four of the Czechs. On a day in which João Cancelo was also absolutely superlative and in a week in which much was discussed about the difference between saying the Czech Republic or the Czech Republic, Bernardo Silva was the king who made Czech mate mate with the two assists for the two goals from Portuguese.
????????? END | ????????? Portugal???? A. Czech ?????????
???? “Quequiomato” applied in the 1st part
???? Cancelo and Bernardo Silva activated the “Portugal City” mode
???? Ratings, stats and xG at https://t.co/QZuwKyufuG # PORCZE #UNL #NationsLeague #Let’s go with everything pic.twitter.com/M25DMDFR6V— GoalPoint.pt (@_Goalpoint) June 9, 2022
Source: Observadora
