Portugal-Croatia, 2-1 Slow pace at the end of summer gave the captain his 900th goal: the chronicle of the Luz game
A yellow card and eleven fouls help explain the smoothness of this Portugal-Croatia match, which also ended up being a good football spectacle. And there goes CR7 breaking records…
Bringing together two teams that love to play football and enjoy handling the ball well, on a late afternoon/early evening in late summer always seems like a good omen for a couple of well-spent hours. If — without detracting from the competition — the game isn’t really going to be a tough one, as it would be in a European or World Cup qualifier or a finals, the stadium is full and the weather is good, then you’ve found the perfect cocktail . It’s a shame about the wind that cooled down the Lisbon night, but hey, it’s September and the peak of the high season is long gone.
Portugal were overall better than Croatia . The spaces that both teams gave to each other were, as a rule, better used by Roberto Martínez’s men, efficiency dictated the rules during the first half and the final result (which was already the case at half-time) seems fair after watching and analysing the game.
It was clear from the start that neither team entered the pitch at Luz to suffocate the other. The pressure was low, at times medium. There you have it: the fact that each team knows that the other knows how to move the ball, caress it, exchange it with pleasure, inhibits big tackles or overly crazy intensities. The game flowed, therefore, in a very pleasant way to watch and with details, on both sides, that bordered on brilliance.
A Portugal – Croatia match that ends with a yellow card (shown by protesters) and eleven fouls committed is one of the best end-of-summer concerts, but it will hardly remain in the public’s and critics’ minds as a particularly exciting and memorable night. Each game serves its purpose. Perhaps the Nations League (a bit like the League Cup in Portugal ) will gain its importance in the emotional space of the fans, but for now it is a smart way (and competitive, for the less strong teams) of avoiding the extremely boring friendlies that previously helped fill the FIFA calendars.
Portugal attacked the match in a formal 4x3x3 formation, which in attacking mode included Diogo Dalot moving from the right to the middle, always duly covered by Rúben Dias in a defence that was momentarily reduced to three men. The scheme had been rehearsed almost from the kick-off and in the seventh minute it immediately bore fruit. Nuno Mendes (what a game!) found Bruno Fernandes close to the area, the Manchester midfielder raised his head, waited and found his team-mate in the six-yard box. Dalot arrived, controlled the ball and scored. Three of the best players of the night at Luz began to shine right from the start.
Croatia , always driven by Modric ‘s class and encouraged by Kovacic ‘s vivacity , did not give up on the night and continued patiently to try to build their game. When they lost the ball, they waited for Portugal ‘s initiatives to be lost through their own fault or nullified by defensive action.
Between two threats from Kramaric and one from Cristiano Ronaldo , it was the Portuguese captain who, in the 34th minute, was the star of the highlight of the night at Luz. Not because of the spectacular finish, but because it was the 900th goal of his career and the culmination of another great move by Portugal , with a magnificent cross from the best Portuguese player of the night — did we mention Nuno Mendes ?
Croatia , for the sake of the end – of-season concert game, reduced the deficit almost at half-time, which allowed us to watch a second half with suspense about the final result, although still less open and fluid. Portugal achieved a fair victory and takes the lead in this Nations League , whose first edition it won.
