If they have seemed rather consistent in the defensive aspect in recent months, the Seleção are still struggling to find the right formula in the offensive sector.
The Euro is approaching, and Fernando Santos has even already unveiled its 26 Portuguese summons. Determined to keep his title of European champion four more years, the Portuguese coach will have some strong choices to make when it comes to sending eleven players to defend the colors of Portugal at the start of each meeting. Dilemmas, which seem mainly to concern the offensive sector of the Seleção, where the talents pile up without the staff managing to find the magic formula. State of play.
Let’s talk about numbers
Is La Seleção a team that is struggling offensively? Statistically, not really. Since last September, the Seleção have scored 18 goals in 9 games, the equivalent of 2 goals per game. An average, moreover, disturbed by a double confrontation against France, during which Portugal failed to find the net. And this is indeed the origin of the doubts that remain concerning the Portuguese offensive sector, where the individual talent of each attacker is enough to shine against the most modest, but where the offensive animation still seems too little incisive to destabilize the better teams. The shy 0-0 conceded last October against Spain in a friendly match also attests to this.
Cristiano Ronaldo, intouchable in national team
It’s no secret: succeeding in playing the Seleção is above all succeeding in finding a system suited to the qualities and needs of its captain. Cristiano Ronaldo. Top scorer in the history of the nation, the Juventus striker will once again be unstoppable at Euro 2021, and Fernando Santos will probably have every interest in putting his five-time Ballon d’Or in the best conditions. It is also considered that, like Cristiano Ronaldo, the triple champion of England Bernardo silva should not see his place on the right wing of the attack particularly threatened.
There is then a place for, a priori, three profiles. During the last meetings, counting for the qualifications for the next World Cup, the Portuguese coach had first tested the association André Silva – Cristiano Ronaldo, before aligning Diogo Jota in the left lane, then run João Félix in a freer position, between the lines. Three different formulas, which reveal both the multiple ammunition available Fernando Santos to build his eleven, but also the uncertainties of a coach in key positions.
The return of the André Silva – Cristiano Ronaldo duo?
For any manager in the world, it would be difficult to do without a player coming out of a 28-goal Bundesliga season. It is, in part, for this reason thatAndré Silva will be traveling with the Seleção. Eintracht Frankfurt center-forward might even hope to get some playing time thanks, in the first place, to his superb form this season, but also to his privileged technical relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Generous and always ready to sacrifice himself for his sidekick, the former FC Porto striker had made a thunderous debut in Seleção in a system that also seemed to benefit CR7, who had the luxury of walking between the left wing and the surface. opposing. However, by aligning Cristiano Ronaldo on a wing, like last month against Azerbaijan, Fernando Santos would expose himself to more risk with the loss of the ball, with a player less able to realize the defensive folds.
Diogo Jota, still decisive in Seleção
With 6 goals in the last 9 official matches of the Seleção, Diogo Jota is one of the Portuguese who stood out the most in recent months. If he is not always very influential in the game, the Liverpool striker was able to appreciate his realism and his ability to be decisive in important moments, as evidenced by his recent double against Serbia. Contrary to André Silva and its main competitor João Félix, Diogo Jota brings a certain form of depth to the wing of an attacking sector that is sorely lacking. Impactful and enterprising, the former Wolves may be a preferred option for Fernando Santos, due to its almost unique profile in Seleção.
João Félix, a declining coast?
If it hasn’t been the most prominent in recent months, João Félix remains a player that Portugal can count on. Often established by Fernando Santos during the last gatherings whether on the corridor or in a more axial role, the young playmaker of Atletico de Madrid brings a technical quality and a creativity very clearly above average, which allows him to be , too, a serious competitor for a starting place in the eleven. However, his recent performances with the Seleção have been rather disappointing, and the former Benfica player is still struggling to find a technical relationship with his team-mates.
Rich’s problems
Three main choices, therefore, to fuel an attack that seems, for the time being, still seeking its bearings. And if Fernando Santos has always shown a certain affection for having several adaptable patterns of play depending on the opponent, the Portuguese manager will need to be foresighted in his choices to align the right elements in the right place at the right time. With André Silva, Diogo Jota and João Félix at his disposal for, a priori, only one small place, Fernando Santos is faced with a concern that many other coaches would have dreamed of having.
Photo credit: IconSport
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