They will, Polska won't stop them.
Game 39: Croatia vs Portugal
- Thread starter Samid
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They will, Polska won't stop them.
What do you reckon, how many more games for Čačić until he gets sacked?
Can't tell, but that Spanish game was a fluke that shouldn't have happened. Rog has no business in this squad. Cacic should have been crucified after that game but we somehow won so it was forgotten.
What game are you guys watching.
This is clearly Match fixing. Croatians didnt even seems bother, it's blatantly obvious theh didn't even try to play to win. No energy no passion mo drive, losing possession like it's a virginity.
This is clearly Match fixing. Croatians didnt even seems bother, it's blatantly obvious theh didn't even try to play to win. No energy no passion mo drive, losing possession like it's a virginity.
Actually 2006 and 2008 against Portugal were Schweinsteiger's best two matches as a winger in the German national team. 2006 with 2 goals and an assist for the 3:1 - 2008 with a goal and two assists for the 3:2.
Yep Schweinsteiger is regarded as our black beast in tournaments. Always plays well against us even if he is in shite form. We just can't stop him. If only we had Sérgio Conceição always available for us against Germany. Mostly shite for us in his Nt career but able of scoring a hattrick in 2000 against Germany.
Unlike Portugal right.
I think Croatia was better but i was pretty amazed to see that you guys are even worse than us on set pieces and finishing. You had só many decent freekicks and got nothing from them. And we notoriously struggle in defensive terms on those plays although Fonte made a big difference for us
Fonte and Pepe looked brilliant to be fair. But you're right we had so many freekicks and long balls but got nothing from it. Should have changed tactics, try a bit more through the middle or with dribbling or something. Once Pjaca came it was a bit more dangerous but it was too little too late.
Sign Pjaca, Rog and Coric.
Agreed. I hope Benfica doesn't buy Pjaca. There were big rumours before the Euro that they were getting him. He was very impressive in his short stint.
First time I heard that. That Benfica is interested that is.
Thing is there was a lot of talk it will be a tournament in which he will get sold, cause Mamić is his agent and all. But he barely played which is a shame. He's really quick, has a good dribble on him and the best part he isn't afraid of anything or anyone. He believes in his own qualities.
Yesterday we tried to play only through our left side. Brozović on the right drifted to the middle a lot and he's not a winger anyway. Čačić should have started or put Pjaca later on the right wing to spread Portugal a little and to have more danger on our right side when things didn't go well on the left. Portugal doubled defense on our wings but we didn't try to change our approach.
Kudos to Santos really. A good tactical game although it's a shame to see such a talented team to play so defensively. But sometimes you must play 'ugly' to win things and you now have a brilliant chance to go far.
Our beautiful football didn't take us anywhere.
I draw plenty of paralelisms between portuguese and Croatian football. Good teams for such small countries. Good flair and technical football. Some of the best players in the World. Good teams and generations letdown by shite managers. We have been gradually adopting a more pragmatic approach though. I think Croatia will eventually to the same. Beautiful football is great but it's winning that counts. We also share the negative traits though. Corrupts FA under the influence of Mendes and Mamic. The sooner we get rid of their influence the better. I doubt it will happen soon though
I was surprised, to say the least, how poor the game actually was. Croatia must be kicking themselves for allowing that game to get away from them. That team should have been in the Semis at least with the squad and talent they have, but it's results that count. I never really though Corluka was anything special at Spurs/City but he has a real bit of class and poise about him, good positioning and anticipation mean he doesn't often get caught out or have to dive into rash challenges, good on the ball also and he combines well with Vida, who is a bit more physical - he also has a bit of previous with the Croatia coach :
Dinamo Zagreb
On 14 June 2011, it was announced that Vida will join Dinamo Zagreb for an undisclosed fee.[6] On 25 July 2012, Vida scored a 98th-minute goal against Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad in a Champions League match and thus helped his team to a 3:2 home win, which enabled it to progress to the next round.
On 24 September 2012 he was thrown out of the first team and the team bus, after he opened up a beer while the team were on their way to a cup match. He also had several altercations with coach Ante Čačić before this incident.[7] The day after it was announced that he would be fined with a record 100,000 euros
Dinamo Zagreb
On 14 June 2011, it was announced that Vida will join Dinamo Zagreb for an undisclosed fee.[6] On 25 July 2012, Vida scored a 98th-minute goal against Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad in a Champions League match and thus helped his team to a 3:2 home win, which enabled it to progress to the next round.
On 24 September 2012 he was thrown out of the first team and the team bus, after he opened up a beer while the team were on their way to a cup match. He also had several altercations with coach Ante Čačić before this incident.[7] The day after it was announced that he would be fined with a record 100,000 euros
Corluka was brilliant at spurs, much better than Walker and he had an excellent understanding with Lennon in front of him. Lennon was also playing well at that time but that may have been due to Corluka's influence to some degree. Lennon's form dropped off some after Corluka left. I never understood why spurs sold Corluka, Redknapp had his "favourites" and would play a favourite rather than the better player. He favoured Walker over Corluka, hence Corluka being sold but I don't understand why Levy allowed it.
I bet on Portugal advancing last night. Was never impressed by Croatia in the group stages, they lacked attacking imagination and it was quite obvious Spain thought they were already there when they played so relaxed against Croatia. Portugal has this aura of sneakyness around them, like the Italians you just never rule Portugal out completely.
It's not like their competition is full of world class talent either. People seem to make a big deal about Croatia but what's so great about their individual talent? Or England's?Or Italy's? It's only Germany and Spain that have really high class teams but even that I'm not sure about this year. Portugal have the talent to be contending for the Euros.
I watched the rest of the game last night and I hope we lose against Poland if Fernando Santos keeps playing the team like that, I still have to see against the Poles because the 90 minutes against Croatia was a chess game to win the middle field which turned in the worst game I remember watching. Croatia did a great job in closing all the passing lines to Ronaldo and I hate this 4-4-2 formation made for Ronaldo to fit in, I want to go back to 4-2-3-1 and we can use Ronaldo at front even if he doesn't score.
Does it mean Ronaldo has now equalized Figo's Portuguese record of 5 assists at Euros? Haven't seen official stats anywhere
Well, Portugal don't have even a proper centre forward and have to play Ronaldo there. Who is their striker apart from Ronaldo? Eder? Few teams in the Euros have so few options in attack. Their defence isn't great either. Only Pepe would make the first XI of most quality teams. CM isn't that great either. By contrast, Croatia have probably the best midfield. Have you watched Croatia at all? They were pretty good in all their games in the group and were creating chances for fun. They have also quite good players on the bench as the game vs Spain showed when Modric didn't play. England do not have a super star like Ronaldo or even like Bale but have many very good players for each position. Their squad is certainly better than Portugal's, etc.
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You will have seen him more closely than I did, but don't recall him playing much at CB when he was in England ? More as an attacking RB, he looks totally comfortable as a CB for Croatia though, surprised he is at Lokomotiv Moscow unless they are paying him megabucks, he is better than that. Didn't Bilic sign him for Lokomotiv ?
Yes, i read this every single time, in every single tournament. England's squad is "certainly" better. Too bad they always do worse than us.
Having a better squad doesn't equate to having a better team though. I'm quite sympathetic to Portugal, if you haven't noticed it already. I might be wrong about this England team though. They lack a single world class player now. That's not a problem in the group stage but may prove a big problem vs France/Germany/Spain if they manage to beat Iceland.
I don't agree with your opinion but i respect it. As you might have seen in my posts, i'm not one of those anti-England types but i think you are over rating the english nt. I don't think they are certainly better than Portugal. Group stage wasn't that impressive. My major problem with the english nt is the lack of winning mentality and the constant bottling. A Team with one knockout win since 1996 or something shows that. Tbf i do agree that this squad has alot of potencial with the young players, the problem is that they very rarely show up or do an interesting Campaign. I don't think Hodgssaurus will change that but let's see how the Team reacts this time.
England 's record since 96 is disgraceful. Only 2 knock out ties won in WCs, not a single knock out tie won in the EC, didn't even qualify for 2008 and since then even their group performances including against some absolute minnows even got worse and worse.
I think they have more quality on the bench. But it terms of first XI it is close and I would rather back Portugal to win a game with England than vice versa.
Ronaldo is pretty much a centre forward these days so Portugal have got a brilliant one. The English squad always seems to be rated sensessly without being all that good. I bet people who watch other leagues also consider Jao Mario, Pepe, Gomes, Mourinho and Nani as "very good players". If you want to see shots taken look at how many shots portugal took in the group stage.
Portugal are clearly contenders for the title. It just suits the "Ronaldo and 10 other dumbos" narrative to not count them as such. They're not Spain or Germany but who is? France could head in that direction soon but remains to be seen. I dont see Portugal as any different to the other "contenders" such as Belgium, Italy, England etc.
Yes he played as attacking RB for spurs, overlapping Lennon on the right wing. They had good understanding as a pair. Corluka was much better than Walker defensively and a better crosser of the ball when in advanced positions. Redknapp was stupid to sell him. I'm not sure who signed him for Lokomotiv, I agree he is too good for that team. I watched a couple of Lokomotiv CL games last season and Corluka stood out as a class above the rest.
They are different in terms of squad depth. Belgium and England to a lesser extent have more options, especially in attack, and Italy are a different class in defence. Portugal are fecked if Ronaldo gets injured whereas Belgium and England (and Italy too) do not depend that much on a single player. Belgium have great options on the bench both in midfield and attack. Portugal have no alternative up front, if things don't go well they have to play Eder, a terrible Swansea reserve with 15 appear. and 0 goals! Compare him to Kane/Vardy/Rashford and Belgium's forwards. That's a huge gap in quality on the bench. In terms of first XI though, as I already pointed out, Portugal are probably good enough to beat these teams, especially England. They are favourites vs Poland.
Of course my comment was biased, That's opinions are. But biased based on observed evidence! I stand by it. Ronaldo is one of the greatest of all time. A superb finisher, playmaker etc but he must be an absolute pain in the ass to have as a teammate. All he does when he plays for Portugal (and to some degree with Real) is get into a huff when he doesn't get the service quality that he expects. It must be absolutely grating for his teammates who are busting a gut to get him the ball. Ronaldo often acts like he is going to win the Euro 16 all by himself and to hell with his teammates. Unlike you I do think Portugal has the talent around Ronaldo to win the whole thing. They showed last night the blueprint on how to do it. If Ronaldo could abandon the me first attitude (highly unlikely I know) they would stand a much greater chance of success!
Agreed, he looks a real classy CB, I checked, it was Bilic who signed him for Lokomotiv - i wonder if he might end up at West Ham, i think he could easily come in and do a job in the EPL from what he showed at the Euros. The thing that impresses me most is his composure and he rarely gets caught out due to a good sense of positioning. Vida too looks a good CB, again should be playing at a higher level than Ukrainian football, more physical and aggressive than Corluka and they make a good pairing.
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How did Fonte and Cedric perform?
I didn't watch the game at all but was really glad when I saw the line up, I hope they retain their positions in the Poland game!
Very good mate. Both got big praise in the Portuguese media. Cedric's performance was better than any Vieirinha performance. Fonte/Pepe partnership was more solid than Pepe/Carvalho and better in aerial terms. I was always a big fan of Carvalho but with his age, Fonte is playing at a higher level. Regarding retaining their positions, i dunno mate, Santos never played the same lineup. The only change i think he should make is bench André Gomes for Sanches.
I thought Cedric gave the ball away a fair bit, though to be fair to him there weren't many options going forward in what was a cagey affair. Would be good to see him get to the byline a bit more rather than crossing from really deep.
You think Sanches is ready to start? He brought a lot of energy and positive intent against the Croats, but he also gave lots of fouls including some that were very silly and unnecessary.
Cédric did give the ball away sometimes but he was way more solid than Vieirinha in defensive terms. He got positive ratings in all Sports newspapers, so he is in the pole position to retain the rb spot.
Dunno if he is ready to start but André Gomes isn't the answer. Gomes is struggling physically and out of form, so i'd start Sanches instead. His overall impact on the team will be bigger than anything André Gomes can provide.
Apologies! You are right.
England
Sack all the FA and put Hodgson on court
Do you think there is any chance of the Danilo/William Carvalho combination that saw out the match? At a minimum it would provide a solid base to midfield and give a bit more freedom to the players further forward. For me Adrien Silva was equally as poor as Andre Gomes, I'd be surprised to see either start.
I don't think so. There is only space for one them in our initial tactical lineup. I can see Santos using both in the last mins if we have a positive result.
I don't agree with your assessment of Adrien. And i'm not defending him because he's a Sporting player. He was praised by the vast majority of our média and pundits because he succesfully did what Santos asked him. To pressure and disrupt Modric's game. I don't know if he will play this time though because i don't think there's a need for this type of player against the polish midfield. Hope André Gomes is benched though