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ესეც შეფასებები
მეირელეში საუკეთესოა
Eduardo: 5/10
The Icelandic giants asked plenty of questions of the Portugal rearguard from set-pieces and crosses, and truth be told Eduardo did little to transmit confidence to his defenders. At fault for the goal conceded, the Genoa number one has had a run of games to forget in a Portugal shirt. Must think positive and strive to recapture the form that saw him shine so brightly in South Africa.
Joao Pereira: 7.5/10
Excellent display from the Sporting right-back. Faultless in his defensive duties, his passing was impeccable and he lent useful support going forward. Jose Bosingwa, on the road to recovery after a long-term injury, may not find it easy reclaiming his berth in the national team.
Fabio Coentrao: 7/10
Like Pereira, defended astutely. Willingly tried his luck going forward but tonight was not his night as his runs forward invariably hit a brick wall or ended up undone by a lack of real estate.
Ricardo Carvalho: 7/10
Tough match for both centre-backs, having to deal with a series of high balls and physical confrontations all night. As you would expect, Carvalho came out top in most of his personal battles.
Pepe: 7/10
Substitute Pepe for Carvalho in above comment.
Raul Meireles: 8.5/10 – PortuGOAL man of the match
The Liverpool man had put in a superb performance against Denmark, but he managed to better it tonight. His uncanny positional sense saw him in the right place at the right time to intercept Iceland’s forays time and time again, but what impressed even more was his pinpoint distribution. Oh, I almost forgot. As well as scoring a spectacular strike to put Portugal 2-1 up, his quick thinking and superb execution almost led to an even more breathtaking goal from fully 40 yards as his shot crashed against the bar.
Joao Moutinho: 7.5/10
No doubt about it, Joao Moutinho is at long last producing his best club form at international level. Buzzing around in midfield he kept the ball moving efficiently, always finding its intended target. The Porto man was equally diligent at breaking up attempts from the opposition to build through the middle.
Carlos Martins: 7.5/10
Much better from Martins compared to his display against Denmark. Retained possession well, passed neatly, was aggressive when he needed to be. Some had called for the Benfica man to be dropped after Friday’s game but Martins vindicated Bento’s faith in him.
Ronaldo: 8/10
My favourite Ronaldo performance in a Portugal shirt since his early years. Played like a true team player. Examples: On 6 minutes Ronaldo tracked back to put in a tough challenge and set up a counter-attack with a clever back-heel. On 32 minutes the Real Madrid man sprinted 30 metres across the park to cut out another Iceland incursion. Throughout he was looking to link up with and bring his team-mates into play, rather than go for the Hollywood moment. This after getting the ball rolling with a trade-mark free-kick. Ronaldo scored 2 goals in 18 games under Queiroz. Under Bento it’s two in two.
Nani: 5.5/10
Strangely out of sorts. Save a lovely dribble and pass to set up an Almeida chance in the first half, almost everything Nani tried failed to come off, and it was surprising he was not substituted earlier. After his heroics at the Estadio do Dragao Nani can be forgiven for having “a bad day at the office”.
Hugo Almeida: 5.5/10
Failed to make himself a threat. Missed a glorious chance on 18 minutes when he shot wastefully wide from close in with just the goalkeeper to beat. An important option for Portugal given the lack of alternatives, the Werder Bremen man can surely give more to this team.
Substitutes
Helder Postiga: 6/10
Played a wonderful one-two with Ronaldo then contrived to miss a certain goal. Got the chance to redeem himself shortly afterwards thanks to a clanger from Iceland goalkeeper Gunnleifsson. Can’t ask for much more from a 25-minute cameo.
Tiago: 5.5/10
The veteran midfielder kept possession of the ball well and showed he still is a valid option for the Seleccao.
Danny: -
A few minutes on the field. Almost scored as Ronaldo’s cross just evaded the onrushing Zenit forward in the closing seconds.
The Coach
Paulo Bento: 7.5/10
The Portuguese press had spent much of the day second-guessing the starting XI, suggesting that Bento would tinker with the line-up. Did well not to do so. In addition to an excellent start to his tenure with two straight wins, under Bento Portugal already seem to have regained an identity, with the 4-3-3 with the ball becoming a 4-5-1 without it and emphasis placed on the passing game that has seen the Seleccao gain so many friends around the world over the past decade.
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Portugal Fan Club.., Força Portugal !
