Portugal is in the quarter-finals of the Nations League. After a lackluster first half, Roberto Martínez’s team counted on the awakening of Rafael Leão (59′) to end up thrashing Poland (5-1). Cristiano Ronaldo (72′ and 87′), Bruno Fernandes (80′) and Pedro Neto (83′) were the scorers of the other Portuguese goals. Marczuk (89′) scored the only Polish goal.
One point was enough and perhaps that weighed on the Portuguese players’ minds. The calendar is so tight that one of the words of the moment is the word “strike”. Perhaps that was what Portugal did during the first 45 minutes of the match. Diogo Costa provided the minimum services and the Portuguese team went to the break with a goalless score, even without taking any shots on the opponent’s goal and being worse than the Polish team.
António Silva and Renato Veiga formed an unexpected duo in the defensive axis, with João Neves further forward occupying the times de Palhinha, in a place that is normally occupied even by Vitinha. On paper, Portugal was still superior to Poland, which not even Lewandowski had, but the first 45 minutes brought some vibes the Euro 2024.
The entry had even been positive, although the opportunities were nil. Bruno Fernandes appeared a lot in the game, but made bad decisions and Portugal missed the connection that the Manchester United player usually gives to the team. With Cristiano Ronaldo looking for the ball and an excess of crosses, already traditional in the national team, Portugal ended up letting their best period of the first half slip away and the Poles didn’t watch the game play.
Bereszynski and Zalewski, in the space of eight minutes, forced Diogo Costa to make two decisive interventions, with the FC Porto goalkeeper still counting on Nuno Mendes to prevent a move that looked like a certain goal.
Portugal even created the best chance before the break, when Cristiano Ronaldo shot over after an assist from Rafael Leão in the six-yard box, but the signs were far from positive. Still, qualification was still within reach.
More than the defensive difficulties evident in the first half, Roberto Martínez was not pleased to see Portugal’s difficulties with the ball. With no ideas in the starting 11, he turned to Vitinha at half-time and the PSG midfielder’s entry, replacing his colleague João Neves, was a boost for Dragão. Even the rain stopped!
Rafael Leão gave the first warning with an attempt to aim at Bulka’s goal and would even end up being the Milan striker to unlock a match that seemed more complicated than it should have been. The counterattack led by Leão was perfect, as was Nuno Mendes’ cross, which found the attacker’s head to make it 1-0 (59′).
The strike seemed to have finally come to an end and it was with a working capacity closer to 100 percent that Portugal sentenced the match and qualified for the quarter-finals of the League of Nations. After an individual play by Pedro Neto and another pass by Vitinha, a penalty for handball by Kiwior gave Cristiano Ronaldo (72′) another chance to score for Portugal from the 11 meter mark.
As usual, the greatest scorer in the team’s history was unforgiving, but the best moments of the night were saved for last. Bruno Fernandes, who he already knows that he will not take part in the game against Croatia due to being suspended, he said goodbye to the group stage of the Nations League with a great goal from outside the area (80′).
Pedro Neto (83′) made it 4-0, with his right foot and Cristiano Ronaldo (87′) put the icing on the cake with an acrobatic goal to make it 5-0. After the strike, the work was completed successfully, even though Diogo Costa ended the night protesting after Marczuk’s goal (89′) for the final 5-1.
Flashscore man of the match: Vitinha (Portugal)
