Portugal has been a decent participant in major tournaments, except before 1960. From the 60s, with “The Black Panther” Eusébio, to 2016, with Cristiano Ronaldo, a number of other big name players have wore the red and green equipment: Fernando Peyroteo, José Travassos, Matateu, Germano, Mário Coluna, José Augusto, António Simões, José Águas, Vítor Damas, Manuel Bento, Torres, Fernando Chalana, Fernando Gomes, Carlos Manuel, Humberto Coelho, Paulo Futre, Paulo Sousa, Luís Figo, Vítor Baía, Pauleta, Nuno Gomes, Rui Costa or João Vieira Pinto to name a few.
Always known for having quality technical players entering it’s main team regularly from time to time, ever since it’s founding in 1914, Portugal has actually been among Top 4 a few times, firstly in World Cup 1966 (3rd place, after a defeat against England in the semis and a 2-1 win over Soviet Union in the 3rd place match), the Euro 1984 extra time defeat to France. A lot of controversies has surrounded this team for a lot of years in between, leading them to periods of 10-year absence from final phases. Luckily for some, nowadays it’s impossible to think of a Euro or World Cup without Portugal. The player with the most games for the team is Luis Figo, with 127, and the top scorer is Cristiano Ronaldo, with 58 goals. Currently, their equipment supplier is Nike.
Form leading up to the tournament
W-L-W
In the three preparation matches, Portugal has gathered together two wins and a loss, this last match happening against England, on a match Portugal saw the team playing defensively, something very, very rare to see on the Selecção das Quinas, as even against bigger teams, they tend to look the opponent in the eyes – which wasn’t the case anyway, since the Portuguese side and the Englishmen are practically on the same level.
The other matches include a 3×0 win over Norway and a 7×0 win over Estonia, two baltic teams with a similar size and style to the Portuguese: Austria, Hungary and Iceland, with Alaba’s side most likely to pose the biggest threat to them.
There are a handful of players on hot form and nothing much negative to say about the pre-tournament matches, except the defensive style adopted in the Wembley match as mentioned, which isn’t likely to happen during the final tournament, so let’s leave it aside.
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Style, tactics and probable starting XI
Characteristically, the Portuguese side plays an offensive style of play, with a constant use of the fast pace on the wings or central midfield, it’s common to see a long pass to the wingers or a midfielder the likes of João Moutinho or André Gomes carry the ball and distribute the game up front, playing as an offensive ball organizer or even as a box-to-box depending on what the situation demands.
When not in attack, the whole team is a cohesive, united block, with the attackers being the first line of defense, and midfielders constantly communicating and working with defenders, usually leaving no space for the opposite team to work with, a defensive style that is the mirror of what usually happens in Liga NOS, especially when smaller teams play against the bigger ones.
In set pieces, they use player-on-player marking, making use of the stature of their full backs. When it’s time for a corner kick, you will see everyone defending except for one person – the striker or one of the wingers, much like what happens everywhere else, and a second player hanging around just on the edge of the area – regularly one of the midfielders, knowing that the ball will end up on his feet and his task will change from defending to carrying the ball and organizing a counter attack in a matter of seconds.
These situations are important when you think about how the Portuguese team plays, as their counter attacks are often a treat to watch and are one of their strongest areas. Portugal benefits a lot from a latin style of football, very similar to the one teams like Brazil, Spain or Argentina play, which include a lot of ball possession, creativity, and spontaneity.
4-3-3
Speaking of styles and formations, this Euro 2016 Portugal is expected to use the traditional 4-3-3. Likewise, for most of the time, this team insists on the same formation, final phase after final phase, sometimes switching to some other during matches, for a short timespan, but nothing that shakes the core of the origins too much. Lately, the 4-4-2 Diamond (With Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo up front) has also been used in a single friendly, but it’s very unlikely that Portugal adopts it as not only it’s not the most indicated formation for them, but it’s no secret that they lack quality strikers and therefore, using such system would be an error.
4-4-2 Diamond that Portugal used on Portugal 2×1 Belgium in late March
Speaking about players to fill the 4-3-3 spots, Rui Patrício will be the goalkeeper. In the right back position will be Cédric or Vieirinha, with Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho likely to share the central back spots, with Raphael Guerreiro on their left side. Few meters ahead will be Danilo Pereira or William Carvalho – most likely Danilo due to the mad evolution and physical capacities shown lately, being often compared to an octopus, many legs, being everywhere in the pitch with João Moutinho and André Gomes keen to share the central midfield spots, occasionally being left out or substituted for Renato Sanches and/or Adrien Silva.
João Mário will probably play on the left wing, a position he has done pretty well at Jorge Jesus’ Sporting CP, giving Portugal’s midfield a whole new level of complexity, as he’s a player that can not only do a wingers job, but a CMs job at the same time, depending on situations, and could start some matches as a CM, opening space for other wingers like Nani or Rafa Silva on his spot.
On the right wing, it’s almost certain that Ricardo Quaresma will be the chosen one, with Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the striker position, often coming behind to receive passes from his team-mates and either make a killer pass to one of the wingers or create a dangerous play by himself.
The versatility among this squad is something to admire, as there are a handful of players that do more than just a position, a factor that could prove decisive in the Cup. Danilo Pereira can do both DM and CB, Vieirinha can do both RB and RW, João Mário can do RW/LW and CM, Cristiano Ronaldo can do CF and RW/LW, William Carvalho can also do DM and CB, André Gomes has been tested on the wings against Norway after a certain minute of the match, this assures that two of the main positions in field – CB and CM – have at least 5 to 6 players that could play there, a terrific depth that gives Fernando Santos a whole lot of possibilities to work with and come up with the best strategies depending on the team on the other side of the pitch.
Key players
Cristiano Ronaldo
Obviously. The inevitable Cristiano Ronaldo is the most famous player in the Portuguese squad and as this is likely to be his last Euro Cup, at least as a regular starter, it is expected that he clicks this time, and really tries to make a name for himself and his country in France, leading the team to avenge a 119 minute loss to Platini’s France in the semi-final of Euro 1984.
Fernando Santos has shown he has no fear at all to take off Ronaldo if needed, and therefore, maybe it won’t be as common as it was before to see him inventing plays by himself, which after some time not only frustrates the other 10 team-mates on the pitch, but the 11 million Portuguese watching.
Ricardo Quaresma
The sleeping magician, Ricardo Quaresma, seems to have woken up under Santos and has impressed everyone with his displays on the pre-tournament friendlies. Even in the loss against England, Portugal’s best opportunity came from his feet after a Renato Sanches pass, a wicked shot that went just centimeters off the left post. Against Estonia, he repeated the movement, only, this time, the ball went in (check out the 2nd goal if you haven’t seen it yet).
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Quaresma’s hot form most likely means the end of Nani in the starting XI, and it would be a huge, unpleasant surprise if Ricardo still gets benched. Heading into the Euro 2016, as a popular football phrase says, Portugal will be Quaresma “and ten other men”.
Danilo Pereira
FC Porto won nothing and disappointed their fans with poor performances, but one man stood out among the others- Danilo Pereira. The defensive midfielder seems to be everywhere in the pitch and to have an infinite reserve of power and resistance. Often an intimidating opponent to go up against, he’s that type of player that not only defends set pieces but converts them into goals on the other side of the pitch. The best stat to evidence his quality, is the fact William Carvalho was considered the best player on the U-21 2015 World Cup and now he constantly starts the match on the bench, for a player that only two seasons ago was blowing up on CS Maritimo from Madeira Island and only joined a bigger team in the 2015 Summer transfer market, although William’s 2015/2016 season wasn’t as good as 2014/2015.
The presence of Danilo Pereira in pitch allows midfielders to push forward a bit more often, giving security to the central area and also being an important backup for defenders whenever the situation calls for one. Pereira is clearly part of the Portuguese success equation.