How Portugal put Croatia to sleep. Killer lullaby. How Portugal put Croatia to sleep Ante Cacic, head coach of the Croatian national team

  • Ricardo Quaresma's goal earns Portugal a place in the quarter-finals
  • On Thursday in Marseille, the Portuguese will play Poland for reaching the semi-finals
  • Perisic hits the post in the 116th minute
  • Nani becomes the fourth player to reach 100 caps for Portugal

A goal from substitute Ricardo Quaresma at the end of extra time brought the Portuguese victory over Croatia in the round of 16. Now Fernando Santos' team will meet Poland in the quarter-finals of EURO 2016.

The denouement in Lens turned out to be truly dramatic. In the first 116 minutes, the teams never shot on target, and then Ivan Perisic almost opened the scoring, hitting the post from the second floor. The Portuguese response, which followed within a minute, shocked the whole of Croatia. After a quick counterattack with the participation of Renato Sanches and Nani, team leader Cristiano Ronaldo shot at Daniel Subasic, the goalkeeper came to the rescue, but Quaresma, who arrived in time, literally brought the ball into the goal.

Both teams played very carefully during regulation time. The Croats built combinations well through Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric, but rarely escalated the game. This was done even less frequently by the Portuguese, who acted as “number two” while waiting for their chance.

However, the first scoring chance came at the Croatian goal. Pepe fired over the crossbar from five meters after Rafael Guerreiro's amazing free-kick. After the miss, the Real defender grabbed his head - this was a sure chance to open the scoring.

However, the first half became a kind of calm before the storm. For the Portuguese, Renato Sanches entered the field, clearly speeding up his team's play. The Croats also began to act more sharply. Suddenly, half-chances began to appear at both gates. Domagoj Vida almost scored with a header in two episodes at once.

The tension mounted and, in extra time, solid defensive play came to the fore again. By the 116th minute, the teams still had not made a single shot on target, and then the Portuguese launched a devastating counterattack.

Man of the match: Renato Sanches

Year of Ronaldo?
It's been 12 years since Ronaldo helped the Portuguese reach the final of the home European Championship, where they... lost to the Greeks. In 2008, Germany crossed the path of Portugal to the 1/4 finals, and in Poland and Ukraine Ronaldo and Co. lost on penalties to the Spaniards in the semi-finals. Ronaldo is the record holder for the number of matches in the final stages of the EURO; no one but him has scored in four European championships... Now, at 31 years old, perhaps he will become a champion?

The Croats have betrayed themselves
The Spanish national team won the last two European Championships using their own version of Barcelona's signature tiki-taka. Until today, the Croats acted in a similar, albeit somewhat modified, manner, trying to get to the opponent’s penalty area as quickly as possible. In a duel with the Portuguese, fearing sharp counterattacks, they betrayed their principles and ultimately paid dearly for it.

“Football 24” presents an announcement of the match of the 1/8 finals of Euro 2016, in which the national teams of Croatia and Portugal will meet.

Croatia - Portugal

Chief referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)

TV broadcast on the "Ukraine" channel, as well as online text broadcast on the "Football 24" website

Croatia put on a real show against Spain, sending them into second place in the group. Incredible desire and thirst for victory helped the Croatians create a sensation and provide a great mood before the first match of the playoffs. As for Portugal, its performance in the group was somewhat strange - 3 draws with not the strongest opponents. It is unlikely that this result will suit the coaching staff and the players who want to win, but this will not be so easy with the Croats.

Croatia takes first place from Spain

The Croats emerged from first place in the difficult Group D. In this quartet, each team was vying for promotion, and the Czech Republic could only be called an outsider conditionally. Spain and Türkiye were beaten by the Croats, and they managed to draw with the Czechs. The character that the Balkans demonstrated deserves respect. Special applause goes to captain Darijo Srna, who continued to be a leader and contribute to the team despite losing his father during the group stage. In general, the Croats are now in good shape and it can play a key role in the confrontation with Portugal, which is not too confident in its abilities.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally opened the scoring account at Euro 2016, and wants to continue scoring against the Croats

Portugal held a “valid” group round and, not without luck, ended up in the 1/8 finals. The Pyrenees drew three times and squeezed into the playoffs from 3rd place. IN last match against Hungary, Ronaldo and company staged a scoring extravaganza, but three missed goals from the not-so-star Hungarians force the coaching staff to seriously think about the quality of the game in defense. The Portuguese have something to work on before the meeting with the Croats, because this match promises to be eventful. First of all, Portugal need to find a way to neutralize Croatia's brains, Luka Modric, who can create chances with just one unexpected pass.

Approximate compositions

Croatia: Subasic - Vrsaljko, Corluka, Vida, Strinic - Kovacic, Badelj - Brozovic, Rakitic, Perisic - Mandzukic.

Portugal: Patricio - Vierinha, Pepe, Carvalho, Guerreiro - Quaresma, V. Carvalho, Moutinho, Gomes - Nani, Ronaldo.

The vice-world champion team of Croatia and the European champion team of Portugal were forced to miss the first round of the UEFA Nations League, so they arranged a sparring match with each other. The last time these teams met was in the 1/8 finals of Euro 2016, when the Portuguese celebrated a minimal victory in injury time. Today's match itself took place on the territory of the continental champions, in the city of Faro at the 30,000-seat Algarve Arena. The main referee of the meeting was Spaniard Javier Estrada Fernandez.

Portugal - Croatia 1:1

The Portuguese squad could be called suboptimal only for the reason that Cristiano Ronaldo was absent. The star striker ignored the September training camp with the national team in order to better adapt to Juventus. The hosts had key players in other positions; Fernando Santos switched to a 4-1-4-1 formation. Zlatko Dalic did not call up three forwards to the national team - Mandzukic, Kramaric and Rebic, while Pivaric and Brozovic remained on the bench.

The start of the match was in favor of the hosts, but the guests defended compactly and reliably. In the first half, the Croats made half as many shots towards the opponent's goal, but managed to score first. In the 18th minute, Ivan Perisic won a rebound in the area of ​​eleven meters and with a cannon shot into the top six left the goalkeeper in the role of an extra, 0-1.

After the goal, the Portuguese woke up and began to create pressure at the Croatian goal. In the 25th minute, Andre Silva's one-on-one with the goalkeeper in a tackle was interrupted by Domagoj Vida. In that episode, Vida was injured and was subsequently replaced. At that time the score was already 1-1. In the 32nd minute, Pizzi found Pepe's head with a lobbed pass, and the veteran wrote his name on the scoreboard.

In the second half, the Portuguese advantage was less noticeable, but under the calls of their own fans, Santos' charges actively rushed forward. Still, it should be noted that Portugal still has not learned to play without Ronaldo; Cristiano was greatly missed today. The only dangerous moment in the second half came in the 78th minute. Mario Rui crossed from the left flank, the defender tried to interrupt the cross in a tackle and cut the ball into the post.

The final whistle recorded a natural draw 1-1. Next, both teams are preparing for their debut in the Nations League. Portugal will play Italy at home on September 10, while Croatia will face Spain away a day later.

Date of: 25.06.2016

Result: 0-1

Description:

Judges: VELASCO CARBALLO. Alonso, del Cerro Grande, Gil Manzano, Yuste Jimenez (all from Spain).

UEFA EURO 2016 FRANCE

1/8 finals Match No. 39.

CROATIA - PORTUGAL - 0:1 (0:0, 0:0, 0:1)

Goal: QUAREJMA 117.

CROATIA: Subasic, Srna(k), Vida, CORLUKA(Kramaric,120+1), Strinic, Brozovic, Badelj, Modric, Rakitic(Pjaca,110), Perisic, Mandzukic(N.Kalinic,88)

Head coach - Ante Čačić

PORTUGAL: Rui Patricio, Cedric Soares, Jose Fonti, PEPE, Rafael Guerreiro, Joao Mario (Quaresma, 87), William Carvalho, Adrien Silva (Danilo Pereira, 108), Andre Gomes (Renato Sanches, 50), Cristiano Ronaldo (c), Nani

Head Coach - Fernando SANTOS

MATCH INDICATORS

6 Scoring chances 2
59 Ball possession(%) 41 Warnings
17 Hits (total) 5 - William Carvalho, 78 (attack disruption)
0 Shots on target 2
12 Shots from the penalty area 5
5 Shots from inside the penalty area 0
1 Barbells, crossbars 0
6 Corner 2
0 Offsides 1
12 Fouls 28
The entertainment of the match 5,5

BEST PLAYER OF THE MATCH

PEPE - 7.0. The king of the Portuguese penalty area, guarded the air better than air defense systems, read the entire Croatian game like ABC, and when getting away from his goal, he even tried to escalate the game.

KILLER LULLABY. HOW PORTUGAL SLEEPED CROATIA

Big names and the status of the teams promised a much more fun spectacle than what turned out to be in the end. Instead of fun, first there was boredom, and then - drama. Croatia and Portugal were so afraid of each other that during the main time of the match they did not make a single shot on target. The Croats were the first to become bolder - and they paid for it. Those viewers who patiently endured 115 minutes of play received a killer ending.

WHO WAS MOST SCARED?

The Bollar-Delelis stadium in Lens is one of the most colorful at this championship. Or maybe throughout France. They don't build those anymore. The arena is designed in a purely British style: four separate stands adjacent to the field, each named after an important figure for Lens: a famous former player, a famous coach, an outstanding regional politician and a distinguished fan. These stands are not symmetrical and not identical, each has its own architectural feature, and this gives the arena a special charm. Its walls remember matches of the 1984 European Championship, the 1998 World Cup and many friendlies from an even earlier period. This stadium definitely has soul. Maybe that's why the French team didn't suffer a single defeat here? The French's unbeaten streak in Lens has already lasted 12 matches.

The Croatians also had good associations. In 1998, Miroslav Blazevic's team defeated Jamaica in Lens at their debut World Championship. There was a lot of talk about that match before the game with Portugal, especially in light of Blazevic’s statements. The day before, the veteran, out of the blue, attacked the Portuguese, saying in an interview that they were buying judges and generally behaving dishonestly. “I have hated Portugal since 1982,” he concluded.

The scandal that arose quickly died down - mainly thanks to the head coach of the Portuguese national team, Fernando Santos, who refused to comment on the words of the elderly specialist.

Blazevic's hatred of Portugal seems to be something personal; most of his compatriots do not feel anything like it. On the day of the game, little Lens was overrun by the red and white checker army of the Croats, but small groups of Portuguese felt completely calm. Representatives of both camps sat peacefully side by side in street cafes and watched the game between Poland and Switzerland. The people greeted the Poles' victory calmly - neither the Croats nor the Portuguese found their future quarter-final opponent too threatening. They feared each other much more.

This probably played a cruel joke.

WHEN T-SHIRTS ARE BETTER THAN FOOTBALL

Croatia came out in a colorful uniform with very cheerful socks - red polka dots. Portugal donned glamorous mint colors. Unfortunately, gear has long been the highlight of this long and mostly boring game.

First, the red and white grabbed the mint ones tightly. For some time, Portugal could not even take possession of the ball, let alone approach Subasic's goal. It became clear why everyone, including Santos, called Croatia the favorites in this match. Croatia started it as the favorite. And then she seemed to get scared and slow down.

Santos, by the way, made quite serious changes compared to the group stage. There were already four participants in the game with the Hungarians on the bench, including Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Carvalho. Ricardo Quaresma remained as a joker - a man with a magical pass and shot, but extremely unstable and prone to risk.

Portugal did not immediately, but still managed to move the game away from their goal. This did not make it any more interesting - the ball was moving more and more in the area of ​​the central circle. The rivals were happy with this situation; no one wanted to get into trouble and get foolishly at the very beginning.

In the 25th minute, the Croats almost had such a misfortune - Modric, trying to run into the attack, lost the ball in his own half, and then Cristiano Ronaldo earned a dangerous free kick. Guerreiro's cross found Pepe's head, but he fired high. And it’s good, because the referees missed the offside call, the goal would have been unfair. The Croats began to act even more carefully. The Portuguese also did not lose their vigilance. The “don’t miss” setting was carried out brilliantly.

Go to sleep, go to sleep in my arms

At the very beginning of the second half, 18-year-old prodigy Renato Sanches appeared on the field, the first Portuguese in the Bayern squad (a five-year contract was signed before the Euro). He replaced Andre Gomes and went to the center of midfield - under Ronaldo and Nani. It seemed that this move somewhat disorganized the Portuguese; in any case, they immediately allowed the Croats to carry out two dangerous attacks in a row. Soon Sanches finally got the hang of it - in the 57th minute he made his first shot on goal. Not on target.

The Croats responded with a more convincing miss. After a free-kick from Dynamo Kiev, Vida got ahead of everyone, including Mandzukic, and headed it in. It’s not God knows what, but in such a lack of fish it will pass for a good chance. Actually, the “standards” were the only thing that somehow enlivened the game.

About five minutes before the end of regular time, Sanches could become the hero of the match. With a spectacular move in the middle of the field, he left Modric out of his hands and rushed through the center, thinking where to pass the ball - to the right to Ronaldo or to the left, where Nani was running alone. I decided to go left and a bad pass ruined the whole impression. Ronaldo was no less upset than the Portuguese fans. Little did they know that the episode would soon be performed as an encore!

Quaresma was obviously thrown into the fray with an eye on overtime. How he works with the ball is a separate story, which was definitely more interesting than the game of both teams. All I had to do was look at Quaresma, although I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the stands had already started nodding off by this time and missed the substitution.

It was difficult to wake up - the extra time was also like a lullaby. The poor fans, trying to somehow have some fun, were greeted with applause not by shots and passes, but by ATTEMPTES to do this or that. Portugal put Croatia to sleep, Croatia fell asleep.

CROATIA HAS REALIZED SOMETHING

These five to seven minutes can be reviewed many times.

Croatia suddenly realized that taking penalties was not their story at all, because Portugal was a much luckier team in this regard. Croatia also suddenly realized that it could and should play more aggressively. And Croatia started playing football. One moment, two! The Portuguese defense began to crackle. Vida misses from a great position, Perisic's shot is blocked, and then Perisic hits the post!

And then something happened that Croatia had been so afraid of the whole game. The ringing of the boom turned the team's head. And the head flew off instantly.

A loss on the left flank, and now Sanches, as at the end of the second half, drags the ball in the center and now makes an accurate pass to Nani. A cross along the goal past the ridiculous, unfortunate Vida, Ronaldo's shot - the goalkeeper parries, but where! - Quaresma is right there, he heads the ball into the goal and sends Portugal to the quarter-finals. Everyone ran onto the field - substitutes and staff. Croatia is trying to organize an assault, but nothing works.

The final whistle blows, and the guys in funny T-shirts with red polka dots fall one after another onto the lawn and start crying. This team was capable of a lot.

QUOTES

“Portugal themselves don’t know how they scored the goal. It shouldn't be like this, with the best team going home. Look what's going on in the locker room. I’ve never seen so many tears.”

Ivan RAKITIC, midfielder of the Croatian national team

“Sometimes you have to be pragmatic. It’s great to play beautifully, but tournaments are not always won in this style.”

Fernando SANTOS, head coach of the Portuguese national team

“Portugal scored, we didn’t. That's all. We need to look to the future, start thinking about the World Cup in Russia and prepare this team. We played poorly in attack. They expected the Portuguese to counterattack and they performed very well for the entire 120 minutes. We controlled the match and didn’t give the opponent a chance. Except for one thing.”

Ante Čačić, head coach of the Croatian national team

NUMBERS

0 Cristiano Ronaldo never touched the ball in someone else's penalty area in the first half.

1 a second passed between the first and last shots on target - in the 117th minute.

6 once the Portuguese reached the quarterfinals of the European Championships.

10 Cristiano Ronaldo hit 10 shots each in games with Iceland, Austria and Hungary, while he never hit the Croatian goal.

19 For the 19th time in this championship, the first half ended in a goalless draw.

100 Nani played matches for the Portuguese national team, becoming the fourth player in the team's history to reach this milestone (following Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Fernando Couto).

ONLY PORTUGAL PARTICIPATED IN ALL EURO QUARTER-FINALS

The quarter-final stage at Euro was first introduced in 1996. Having beaten the Croats, the Portuguese made it into the top eight teams of the European Championship for the sixth time in six championships. In addition to the Portuguese, the Dutch constantly participated in the 1/4 finals from 1996 to 2008. However, in 2012 they failed to qualify from the group, and in 2016 they did not make it to the final stage at all.

 

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