Defense with three, hybrid system, Cristiano Ronaldo without scoring… Portugal, a legitimate candidate for the Euro Cup title and which dispelled no doubts in the first phase, faces Slovenia in Frankfurt at 4pm (Brasília time) in the round of 16 this Monday- fair.
After having had an almost perfect preparatory phase with records, winning all ten games, the Portuguese team arrived at Euro-2024 as one of the favorites led by Spanish coach Roberto Martínez.
Although they finished first in Group E, the group stage was less brilliant, as Portugal beat the Czech Republic with a tight score (2-1) and suffered a defeat (2-0) against Georgia, in a game in that several reserves were selected, as they were already ranked first in the group.
Portugal only managed to beat Turkey (3-0), second place in group E, with a good margin.
Roberto Martínez tested different tactical schemes in these games, alternating a hybrid 3-5-2 that changed depending on whether the team was attacking or defending with a more classic 4-3-3.
It is unclear what tactics will be used against Slovenia, who boast Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak and have managed to draw with England and Denmark.
Favorite, but with doubts
The Portuguese are strong favorites against the Slovenians, but the defeat against Georgia, which was beaten by Spain (4-1) in the round of 16 this Sunday, fueled doubts about Roberto Martínez’s team.
“We have to learn from what we didn’t do well. And try not to make the same mistakes in the next game”, said defender Pepe, who continues to lead the Portuguese defense despite being 41 years old.
The Portuguese press was particularly critical of the tactical experiments carried out by the Spanish coach.
“It’s difficult to see on their (the players’) faces that this is a team that knows what it does and believes in it”, criticized the newspaper A Bola.
These doubts are also due to the fact that their captain and star, the 39-year-old veteran Cristiano Ronaldo, has not yet scored a goal in Germany, although he has been active and supportive in the games played.
Despite not having scored any goals, Roberto Martínez has shown great confidence in CR7, whom he considers untouchable.
However, Portugal does not depend solely on its captain, having a star-studded squad, from Bernardo Silva to Rafael Leão, including Bruno Fernandes, Rúben Dias and João Cancelo.
The Portuguese will not be able to be too confident against the Slovenes, who have quality and experience in both areas.
Slovenia not only has Oblak, one of the best goalkeepers in this European Championship, but also a striker like Benjamin Sesko, from Leipzig, one of the most promising on the continent.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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