Portugal have failed to progress to the latter stages of the UEFA Nations League after conceding a late goal in their pulsating clash tonight with Spain in Braga....CONTINUE READING
With Spain needing a win in order to make it into the finals, Luis Enrique named a solid starting lineup which included the likes of experienced right back, Dani Carvajal, Man City’s defensive midfielder Rodri and also Morata who scored the winning goal.
On the flip side, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo retained their places in the first XI while Joao Cancelo came in for Diogo Dalot who bagged a brace in Portugal’s last match against Czech Republic.
Ronaldo who played with a ‘black eye’ offered little in the first half as Spain dominated their hosts and gave the Man United ace no chance to cause any damage.
However, just after the break, Ronaldo got his first real chance of the game to open the scoring when Carvajal lost possession of the ball in a dangerous area.
Unfortunately, Cristiano failed to capitalize on Carvajal’s mistake as Unai Simon denied him from finding the back of the net.
The 37-year old missed another great opportunity to give Portugal the lead when he should have fired the ball as soon as it dropped to his feet but somehow delayed which allowed Jose Gaya to recover the ball and clear it away.
Unfortunately for Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata punished him and Portugal 2 minutes from stoppage time for failing to convert the chances which came their way.
From his performance tonight, Ronaldo showed why he cannot be relied upon in big occasions.
It was only 4 years ago when same Cristiano bagged a hat-trick against Spain in the World Cup to snatch a point right at the death for Portugal.
Sadly enough, the Ronaldo who scored 3 goals against that Spanish side in 2018 wasn’t the one we saw tonight.
And with another World Cup in sight, Portugal’s coach Fernando Santos should learn from this 1-0 defeat and drop his ageing captain in favor of young talents whenever they face a big team.
