Dubai: Portugal struggled in their World Cup qualifiers and only a superb performance from their star forward and skipper Cristiano Ronaldo got them through their play-off against Sweden to ensure they booked their ticket to Brazil 2014.
Portugal are a side capable of beating any top team on their day, but they are also prone to unexplained lapses, with egos taking centre-stage rather than their abilities to deliver as a unit on the football pitch.
Their rather pathetic qualifying campaign has a sad story to tell — Portugal lost to Russia once and went on to draw at home Northern Ireland and away to Israel. But things could have been far worse had it not been for a second-half hat-trick from Ronaldo in their 4-2 win in Northern Ireland, having trailled 2-1 at half-time.
The failure to top their group forced Portugal into a two-leg play-off against Sweden. And, in what was seen as a battle between Ronaldo and
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, it was the Portuguese who fired on all cylinders to take his team to a 4-2 aggregate victory.
After years of basing their game around a playmaker — firstly Rui Costa and then Deco — Portugal have evolved their style and tried to adapt to make best use of the power and speed of their star Ronaldo.
Traditionally known to play a possession game, Portugal have changed under coach Paulo Bento as they have started mixing this with long balls into empty spaces for Ronaldo and Nani to run on to. As a result, Monaco’s Joao Moutinho has become the most influential player in a midfield that dictates the pace of the game, tirelessly recovering balls and delivering pinpoint passes.
In the defence, full-backs Joao Pereira and Fabio Coentrao love to push forward as centre-backs Pepe and Bruno Alves hold firm.
However, a big concern for Portugal could be in the centre-forward position, where Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida have been less than clinical. But there is plenty of experience in this Portugal side and, should they fire as a team, they will be hard to beat.
Portugal
Group G
Fifa Ranking: 3
Top man
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Cristiano Ronaldo |
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Coach
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Paulo Bento |
Best 11 (4-3-3)
Beto; Alves, Pepe, Costa, Coentrao; Moutinho, Meireles, Veloso; Ronaldo, Almeida, Nani
Squad
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio (Sporting), Beto (Sevilla/ESP), Eduardo (Braga)
Defenders: Andre Almeida (Benfica), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahce/TUR), Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid/ESP), Joao Pereira (Valencia/ESP), Neto (Zenith Saint Petersburg/RUS), Pepe (Real Madrid/ESP), Ricardo Costa (Valencia/ESP)
Midfielders: Joao Moutinho (Monaco/FRA), Miguel Veloso (Dynamo Kiev/UKR), Raul Meireles (Fenerbahce/TUR), Ruben Amorim (Benfica), William Carvalho (Sporting)
Strikers: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/ESP), Eder (Braga), Helder Postiga (Lazio/ITA), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas/TUR), Nani (Manchester United/ENG), Rafa (Braga), Silvestre Varela (FC Porto), Vieirinha (Wolfsburg/GER)
Group opponents
Qualifying campaign
Were pipped to top spot in Uefa Group F by Russia, so were forced into a play-off with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden, who they beat 4-2 on aggregate.
World Cup history
First tournament: 1966 (in England)
Appearances (before 2014): 5
Best finish: Third place (1966)
Pros
- Cristiano Ronaldo is at his peak and will be desperate to make an impact.
- Ronaldo will be backed up by the experience of Joao Pereira, Fabio Coentrao, Pepe, Bruno Alves and Nani.
- The team will be on a high following their dramatic 4-2 win over Sweden in the play-offs to reach Brazil.
Cons
- Coach Paulo Bento has been criticised for calling up an ageing squad that has more than six players aged over 30.
- Much depends on Ronaldo — if he fires, Portugal advance, but if he doesn’t then they could struggle.
- Portugal have a lack of quality replacements on the bench.
