After yet another loss to Spain, it is time for self reflection as far as Portugal are concerned but questions need to be asked about why Ronaldo was relegated to the fifth penalty kick taker’s spot or why Portugal failed to
keep up with their emphatic approach against Spain throughout the match after impressing in the first half of their semi-final encounter against the defending champions...
The evening started off brightly for the underdogs as Portugal surprised everyone by indeed taking the game to their Iberian neighbours. Spain were undoubtedly shocked by this approach and this reflected appropriately in the first
half as their rhythm was disturbed. Everyone expected Portugal to adopt an England-esque approach and park the bus whilst attempting to nick a goal on the counter attack by using the pace of Luis http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629.
However this was not the case. Portugal took the game by the scruff of the neck and pressed up field, squeezed Spain and possession with surprisingly positive results for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984 were
unable to really test Casillas in the first half despite their fair share of attacking flair. It was Ronaldo’s shot from the right hand side of the penalty area which was Portugal’s only real goal scoring chance and it was a limited one at best.
However things worsened for Bento’s men after the half time whistle as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011’s passing
style of play, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xabi-Alonso-c37045 dropped deep and almost acted like a quarterback as he took the ball from the Spanish centre backs and then distributed it to his team mates in the front line of attack.
Even though Portugal gave a good enough account of themselves in the second half, it should be noted that their offensive flair did not result in even a single shot on target against La Furia Roja. There was a sort of inevitability
about the match itself for the Portuguese national team who held on barely at the end of 90 minutes to force the match into extra time.
In added extra time, Spain stepped up their drive to set the record straight and they were helped in this regard by the introduction of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pedro-c29582 Rodriguez who looked to take on the Portuguese defense, which to their credit stood
firm. Nonetheless it was in the ensuing penalty shootout that real drama took place. Whilst everyone counted on http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ronaldo-c31734 to take the first penalty or the third penalty (usually the two penalties in the penalty shootout which are regarded as the most crucial
ones), regardless former Manchester United man was jotted down to take the fifth one.
Fortunately for Spain, it didn’t come down to the fifth penalty as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bruno-c8098 Alves’ spot kick struck the crossbar after Moutinho had missed his penalty kick for Portugal. It was a sad ending to their terrific run in the tournament
then as Portugal’s captain was left with an expression of astonishment on his face. Ronaldo did so much for the Iberian underdogs at the European Championships but he had no say in their final effort to seal a place in the final as he didn’t even get to take
a penalty kick.
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