UEFA EURO 2016: Portugal team preview

Portugal are a nation who’ve long disappointed on the big international stage. And, having never won a major tournament, they are a team who have always promised so much but have ultimately failed to deliver when it mattered most.

Despite having not won anything, it is the European Championships where Portugal have performed best. Their history shows four semi-final appearances and in 2004 they reached the final. In that 2004 final, when hosting the tournament, what looked to be the country’s finest hour somehow turned into one of the biggest footballing upsets of all time. They were beaten 0-1 in extra time by outsiders Greece. In the 12 years since that agonising defeat there has been little to cheer about for Portuguese football fans as the country has continually failed to establish themselves among the international elite.

For a country who has produced a number of top class players over the years – Eusebio, Luis Figo, Pauleta, Rui Costa and of course Cristiano Ronaldo – you would expect that their day will come soon enough. However, after qualifying somewhat unfashionably for these finals it’s hard to see them making any real inroads here.

EURO 2016 Squad

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício (Sporting CP), Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dínamo Zagreb).

Defenders: Vieirinha (Wolfsburg), Cédric (Southampton), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Carvalho (Monaco), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), José Fonte (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient).

Midfielders: William Carvalho (Sporting CP), Danilo Pereira (Porto), João Moutinho (Monaco), Renato Sanches (Benfica), Adrien Silva (Sporting CP), André Gomes (Valencia), João Mário (Sporting CP).

Forwards: Rafa Silva (Braga), Ricardo Quaresma (Beşiktaş), Nani (Fenerbahçe), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Éder (Lille).

On paper, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Quaresma, Portugal appear to have a relatively strong squad, but they’ve had strong squads before and still failed to produce the goods. Will this year be any different? Given the manner in which they’ve qualified – All wins by a single goal in a relatively easy group – you’d think not.

Key Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

Without a doubt the key man in this side and, unless you’re a fan old enough to remember Eusebio, you couldn’t argue that we’re talking about the best player this country has ever produced. With 56 goals in a Portugal shirt, Ronaldo is the country’s all-time leading scorer, and he’s probably not finished yet. The 30 year old is also coming off the back of yet another fruitful season at club level, one where he scored no fewer than 51 goals in all competitions and lifted the Champions League for a third time.

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A scorer of all types of goals: hard, easy, left foot, right foot, one vs one, header, volley…. the list goes on. And having gradually become more and more of a striker, Cristiano shows hunger like no other player and is always seemingly focused on scoring the next goal. It’s fair to say that this talismanic figure will be the focal point of all Portugal attacks and they’ll need their main man to be at his best if they’re to stand any chance of going deep into this tournament.

Qualifying

The Portuguese may have won seven out of their eight qualifying games, but their campaign was hardly inspiring. Their only loss came on match-day one against fellow qualifiers Albania. And although they did indeed win each of their next seven games, they didn’t exactly do it in style. All seven wins were by a single goal margin and two of the games required a stoppage time winner. Obviously winning seven games is a fair achievement regardless of how you do it, but they weren’t at their best and certainly enjoyed their share of luck.

Group Matches

Portugal v Iceland – 14 June, 2016

Portugal v Austria – 18 June, 2016

Hungary v Portugal – 22 June, 2016

Click here for the full Euro 2016 match schedule. 

Verdict

Portugal find themselves in Group F alongside Austria, Hungary and major tournament debutants Iceland. They are the bookies favourites to win this group, although this might be a bit overstated and thus the other three appear have been underestimated a little.

With three qualifying places potentially up for grabs in each group, you would expect this side to find a way through to the next round, but will they have things all their own way and go through as group winners?

From a betting point of view, as pointed out in the Group F preview, it is definitely worth taking on Portugal here. At odds of 5/4 Portugal to score under 5.5 points is the bet that catches the eye.

On what we saw in qualifying alone it seems as though Iceland have every chance of denying Portugal an opening game victory and if this happens it will be an uphill task from there on for the group favourites. The Austrians proved themselves to be a strong side in qualifying and that too will be a tough game for Portugal. All things considered, this is a difficult group whichever way you look at it and if Portugal are to make it through it is fancied that they will do so in stuttering fashion as opposed to walking it.