Portugal Discussion | Roberto Martinez watch

Some of it was that Widmer was out (I think with the virus) and also some credit to Santos for playing Dalot very high and turning Vargas into a wingback as Ricardo tucked in to deal with the roaming 3 of Bernardo, Otavio and Bruno.

Morocco won't be as disorganized and Amrabat-Hakimi-Mazraoui and the 2 #8s have been brilliant in protecting the CBs , but Aguerd and Saiss being hurt might be too much for them. I could see the case for Felix starting up top against some injured and tired CBs and Portugal pressing less and looking to tear them apart in a more open game, though Leao doesn't seem like he'll be trusted with a start, so probably Felix will start out left.

Starting to look like this virus could well be the reason for that awful performance,if that's the case then take back my criticisms
 
Was surprised how much better they looked without Ronaldo.. I knew they'd be better going forward without him.. they have some pretty good forwards.. but this was unexpected.. SUI were really poor though..
 
If we beat Morroco I just hope it’s England we face. I’m not sure we can beat France tbh.

England are the “Spurs” of international teams and we seem to have their number since 2002.
 
what's the best approach against Morocco ? best not to drag until Penalty Kick shootout and end up like Spain MK II.

Portugal are going to need a relatively early goal to open the game up and try to kill Morocco on the break thereafter. The longer the game goes on, the more it favours their opponent.
 
If we beat Morroco I just hope it’s England we face. I’m not sure we can beat France tbh.

England are the “Spurs” of international teams and we seem to have their number since 2002.

Don't worry you won't be facing us
 
If Portugal wins the World Cup, they should send a thank you letter to Ten Hag.
 
I honestly cant see why they dont have a as good a chance as any to win the thing. There is no team this year that is head and shoulders above the rest. Brazil, France and Portugal are favourites imo.
 
I honestly cant see why they dont have a as good a chance as any to win the thing. There is no team this year that is head and shoulders above the rest. Brazil, France and Portugal are favourites imo.
And England. Those four look the most impressive teams left.
 
Funny how people believe every single word a delusional journalist writes but don't believe what the manager himself said.
Funny if you think Ronaldo was ok with that if he cant even handle being subbed mid game or cant be bothered coming on for few minutes. Funny if you think 9out of 10 managers wouldnt be smart enough to lie to journalists.
 
I honestly cant see why they dont have a as good a chance as any to win the thing. There is no team this year that is head and shoulders above the rest. Brazil, France and Portugal are favourites imo.

Do not forget Messi and friends.. According many some people, Messi 22 is on par with Maradona 86
 
If we beat Morroco I just hope it’s England we face. I’m not sure we can beat France tbh.

England are the “Spurs” of international teams and we seem to have their number since 2002.
I'm an Irishman and do not take great pleasure in saying this but England are a strong team and I have them to get to the final based on performance and squad depth.
 
Cancelo was the only player not to celebrate the first goal. People only notice these things when it’s CR.
 
It's actually mad the amount of talent they produce for a nation of 10m people, and not a particularly wealthy one by western standards. Would be cool if they won it, now that Ronaldo is benched.
 
Cancelo was the only player not to celebrate the first goal. People only notice these things when it’s CR.

I'm sure Cancelo is also salty being benched for Dalot after being an automatic pick and regular for the national team.
 
It's actually mad the amount of talent they produce for a nation of 10m people, and not a particularly wealthy one by western standards. Would be cool if they won it, now that Ronaldo is benched.
He and his fans will somehow claim credit for it so feck that. I'm willing to get behind England or France if needed :D
 
He and his fans will somehow claim credit for it so feck that. I'm willing to get behind England or France if needed :D
Not really sure what you mean by “credit.”

R9 is credited with the ‘94 World Cup despite not playing a single minute.
Pele is credited with the ‘62 World Cup despite picking up injury and not playing past the group stages.

Ofcourse, no one will claim he was integral if they somehow win and he doesn’t feature much from now until the final.
 
Cancelo was the only player not to celebrate the first goal. People only notice these things when it’s CR.

Yeah it's not like Ronaldo gives idiotic interviews and makes claims of being iron clad - which would naturally draw more attention. In fact I'm not sure anyone has ever seen Ronaldo's behavior and thought - I think this fellow wants less attention. Like ever. He probably came out of the womb taking all the credit for his own birth.
 
It's actually mad the amount of talent they produce for a nation of 10m people, and not a particularly wealthy one by western standards. Would be cool if they won it, now that Ronaldo is benched.
Yeah that's pretty impressive. I'm also now rooting for Portugal to do well now that Ronaldo is a bench warmer.

I honestly root for almost anyone of the teams left since a lot of them have United players and it's always good to see them do well and gain confidence.

France have got Varane, Portugal have Bruno and Dalot, Argentina have Martinez and there is something about Messi winning a world cup that feels right to me. Morroco is an African country and as an African I'm rooting for them obviously. Brazil have Casemiro, Antony and Fred. England have a bunch of United player with Shaw a starter, though I wouldn't mind seeing them lose just for the meme and the sheer meltdown it always creates.

Plus England flaming out at a competition after going in with so much hype has always been a tradition. :lol:
 
Credited in what sense? There's a difference between credit and a medal.
When people argue his credentials, they always mention that he won 2 WCs and not 1 even though he never played a second in 94.

Same goes with Pele. People always use his 3 WCs as an argument when debating his superiority to other players when in reality, he was only really key for 2.

You could make the same argument with Messi at club level for his first 2 league titles and CL in 2006.
 
Not really sure what you mean by “credit.”

R9 is credited with the ‘94 World Cup despite not playing a single minute.
Pele is credited with the ‘62 World Cup despite picking up injury and not playing past the group stages.

Ofcourse, no one will claim he was integral if they somehow win and he doesn’t feature much from now until the final.

The only credit is a winners medal and that's it. He is not credited with anything else.
 
Do not forget Messi and friends.. According many some people, Messi 22 is on par with Maradona 86
This Argentina team isn’t that impressive. They have only looked extraordinary against a poor Poland. Australia almost tied with them, Saudi Arabia neared them, against Mexico they only successfully attacked twice and good for them they were effective. Argentina is good, it’s just not on the level of Brasil, France and England… even Portugal looks way stronger.
 
My gut says we beat morroco but I don’t think Portugal can beat, France, Brazil, or Argentina.
Against Argentina we would have better chances than England for sure. There is an overall underestimation of England but I really don't see France as favourites vs them. England has been better every tournament since 2018, and with better players also.

If we beat Morocco, a extremely strong defensive side without lacking quality players upfront, particularly their wingers, I cannot say I would be more confident vs England than France, using argumentation of Euro 2000, 2004 and 2006 doesn't make sense in 2022, other teams, other players.

Not saying your opinion isn't valid before you reply with something like "It wasn't what I said". ;)
 
I don't trust our defence to be honest. We've conceded sloppy goals. Dias looks lost. France, England and Brazil attackers will make our backline dizzy. I think Morocco will be difficult, they defend well and break on the counter well with tricky players, Portugals kryptonite. Plus the stadium is going to be absolutely rocking with Moroccan fans. I'm happy with a quarter final, would be delighted with a semi-final.
 
I don't trust our defence to be honest. We've conceded sloppy goals. Dias looks lost. France, England and Brazil attackers will make our backline dizzy. I think Morocco will be difficult, they defend well and break on the counter well with tricky players, Portugals kryptonite. Plus the stadium is going to be absolutely rocking with Moroccan fans. I'm happy with a quarter final, would be delighted with a semi-final.
I think Morocco have some problems with injuries with key defenders, that paired with how exhausted they'll be after the game with Spain puts you in good shape. Morocco have the lowest xG of all teams left in the quarters, if you score early and force them to come out of their shell (like Switzerland) it can be a romp. You just have too much quality for them imo, I think you should be expecting more from your team and be more excited.
 
Wow that was incredible. Third WC quarters in history for us and first KO win in a tournament since Éder 2016. Impossible to not start dreaming about making our first ever final after that although it will likely end in disappointment.

Ronaldo’s old and should obviously start on the bench the rest of the tournament. He could still be important in certain moments, needs to get his head down now. Ramos has been good for Benfica but I think noone in the country saw this coming, wtf did he just do.

Still have some concerns, defensive setpieces have been shit and William in midfield I don’t believe is ideal. Vitinha and Palhinha deserve more minutes there. Guerreiro at left back defensively concerns me too, it will be Ziyech on that side next. I’d like to see Cancelo starting there, he hasn’t been great so far but quite simply he’s a better player than Raphael. Horta is ok but don’t want him to get important minutes anymore.

Dalot, Pepe, Félix and Bruno incredible.
Leão off the bench half the times incredible, half the times shit but I’ll take that
The 3 City players are better than what they’ve shown so far, we’re going to need them at their best

Incredible day for us but also Switzerland made it too easy, Morocco won’t
Santos ball is working, never said nothing bad about him. :lol:
 
I don't trust our defence to be honest. We've conceded sloppy goals. Dias looks lost. France, England and Brazil attackers will make our backline dizzy. I think Morocco will be difficult, they defend well and break on the counter well with tricky players, Portugals kryptonite. Plus the stadium is going to be absolutely rocking with Moroccan fans. I'm happy with a quarter final, would be delighted with a semi-final.
Cancelo has to start. Only in Portugal can the starting right back of a top 3 side in Europe sit on the bench for gurreiro.

I agree on Dias, he does not look In form.
 
Cancelo has to start. Only in Portugal can the starting right back of a top 3 side in Europe sit on the bench for gurreiro.

I agree on Dias, he does not look In form.

It’s weird but Dias and Cancelo have looked like some of the worst players on the pitch, I really don’t know what’s happening to the City players at this World Cup. Bernardo hasn’t been up to his standards either really.

I’m most worried about Dias In defence. Antonio Silva has looked really good but he’s only 19, would take enormous balls of steel from Santos to play him.