At this rate, we are not about to see a Polish victory against Portugal again. Since the last one, in 2006, there has probably never been such a gap between the two teams. Cristiano Ronaldo’s team, barely shaken at the start of the match, was sovereign for more than an hour, dominating its opponent to such an extent that it should not have been content with its two goal lead at the end. at the end of the last twenty minutes.
At half-time, in addition to Bernardo Silva’s superb opening score (26th) and Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal (his 906th career) at the conclusion of an individual recital by Rafael Leao finished with a strike on the post (37th), the Seleçao had everything under control. But did not score this third goal which would have extinguished all the suspense. Ronaldo found the bar (11th), Ruben Neves did not straighten his head (13th), Bruno Fernandes found the goalkeeper on his way (14th), and finally the free kick left by CR7 to Bruno Fernandes did not found the target (45th + 3). If we add this new school action in which the five-time Ballon d’Or chose to (badly) serve Bruno Fernandes rather than strike (54th) or this new raid by Rafael Leao taken on the goalkeeper by the Mancunian ( 60th), that’s a lot.
Roberto Martinez’s 4-3-3, with Bernardo Silva in the heart of the game with Bruno Fernandes in front of an astonishing Ruben Neves as sentinel, stifled Poland. But the combined outings of Ronaldo and Leao (64th), combined with the more aggressive coaching of Michal Probierz, breathed new life into Poland, who began to believe in a miracle in the 78th, when Piotr Zielinski buried himself in the surface to deceive a feverish Diogo Costa (1-2). Barely ten minutes, during which the locals ended up opening up too much and gave in to an own goal from Jan Bednarek, who wanted to cut off a cross from the infernal Nuno Mendes (1-3, 88th). There was a world between Poland and Portugal, and there is a six-point difference in the standings after three days, which allowed the Seleçao to isolate itself at the top of its group after three successes.
