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Tiago shines as Portugal draw with Serbia

March 29th, 2007 | By: Luis | 38 Comments »

Tiago shines We knew this match would be a very different challenge. Serbia, we expected, would fight to the end after their humiliating defeat to Kazakhstan. And fight they did. The match started in the best possible fashion for Portugal, when in the 5th minute, Tiago lobbed a lovely shot over the head of Serb goalie, Vladimir Stojković. It was a masterful strike from the Olympique Lyonnais midfielder and for a moment it seemed that Portugal was picking up right were they left off in the match against Belgium.

But this was Belgrade and Serbia was not about to go quietly. In fact, after Tiago’s goal Serbia looked the more dominant attacking side. Portugal’s midfield lacked the same cohesion and forward momentum that proved so deadly against Belgium. Serbia pressured and won corner after corner until finally in the 37th minute, Boško Janković headed home a corner to equalize. Portugal did it’s best to impose it’s game with Simão and Ronaldo on the wings and toward the end of the first half it looked as if Portugal had finally regained the momentum.

With the start of the second half Portugal played with greater control and circulated the ball well. Pass by pass, they began to exploit openings in the Serb defense. Tiago continued his man-of-the-match performance with another fabulous effort on goal, but Stojković proved up to the task.

As the second half wore on, both squads began to show signs of fatigue. It was time for the substitutes. For Portugal, Caneira replaced Miguel in the 72nd minute and Raul Meireles was in for João Moutinho in the 77th – two defensive substitutions that signaled Scolari’s contentment with the 1 -1 draw. Finally, in the 82nd minute, Quaresma replaced Nuno Gomes. We regained some pace with the substitutions, but by then it was too little too late. The 1 – 1 score line would hold and both teams would end the day with 11 points in group A behind leaders Poland.

Defending deep is never good
Lets give Serbia credit for the display of attacking football they put on in the first half. Portugal failed to control the passing lanes in midfield and paid the price. The Portuguese defense was forced to defend deep in their half for a good part of the first half and the corners just kept coming for Serbia.

The good news is that the back four held up well against the onslaught. Carvalho and Andrade proved once again why they may be one of the best central defense combinations in the game. Without them, the result may have been very different.

Did we miss the Quaresma factor?
Hindsight being 20/20, I have to question why Scolari didn’t start red hot Quaresma in this game. I know it’s not an easy decision with both Quaresma and Simão in top form in recent weeks, but it seems to me Scolari got it wrong this time.

In my opinion, when a squad plays as well as Portugal did against Belgium, you don’t go out of your way to change the chemistry. Besides, Simão usually has a much greater impact as a sub then Quaresma. He would have been a much better choice to come on in the second half. Quaresma’s style of play requires a little time to establish itself. It’s simply not that easy to make a mark on a match with only eight minutes remaining in the game. One thing Simão offers over Quaresma is defensive tenacity. He is very good at pressuring the ball and causing turn overs when he’s not attacking. Perhaps that motivated Scolari’s decision. That and his proven loyalty to seniority on the team.

Group A standings
Portugal now sits second in group A on goal differential with 11 points. Serbia and Finland sit second and third respectively, also with 11 points. Poland still tops the group with 16 points from 7 games.

Qualification will kickoff again in June with Portugal away to Belgium on June 2. Portugal will sit out the round of matches that will take place on June 6. A friendly will likely be scheduled for that round. The table doesn’t look so bad at the moment, but there’s still plenty of work left to secure a place at the finals next year. Incremental progress is progress nonetheless and in the final analysis all that matters is getting there.

Força Portugal!

Minute-by-minute report

Tags: Portugal, Serbia

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Comments

Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 38 comments.

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By lorenzo | March 30th, 2007 at 7:33 am

i don’t think it makes a difference if Scolari plays Almeida or Gomes.they both won’t play well as lone strikers..playing da both of them together up front may bring da best out of both of them..but scolari will never play 2 center forwards

Posted from Singapore

By Catarina | March 30th, 2007 at 11:03 pm

Portugal is going to win the Euro 2008. Eu nao tenho ninumas duvidas. O scolari vai nos ajudar. Quase ganhemos em 2004 e 2008 vai ser o ano de Portugal.
Forca meu PORTUGAL !!!!

Posted from United States

By Daria | April 4th, 2007 at 1:01 am

I know they don’t see this but I just like to get my good luck wishes out there!! So Good luck to Benfica in the UEFA Cup on Thursday!! I think they can go all the way this year and bring home some Euro glory!! Also good luck to all Portuguese players who are gracing the European stage this week in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup, lets keep rocking the football world!!

Posted from Canada

By Carlos | April 6th, 2007 at 5:11 am

Well, Benfica lost 3-2, but they’ve got two valuable away goals and the game was absolutely fascinating. The Portuguese side went behind 0-3, but made the breakthrough in the 63rd minute, I think, and N Gomes(63, F Miccoli beats Espanyol’s offside trap) and Simão (65, races past two defenders) managed to keep hope alive. Força Benfica!

Posted from Austria

By Luis | April 6th, 2007 at 1:10 pm

Carlos – That was an amazing game indeed. It looked like Benfica was finished at half-time, but they managed to fight back and Espanyol went to sleep on defense for a while. Still plenty to play for in Lisbon.

Posted from United States

By Carlos | April 8th, 2007 at 11:10 am

Definitely, but I’m confident.

Meanwhile, Luís Figo played a really excellent match with Inter against Reggina, although they drew 0-0…
One of the few times he was able to play 90 minutes, and he was named Sky Italia’s man of the match, but he seems very sure about leaving Italy in summer. Pity; we won’t hear much from him in the future…

Interview:
http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=26078&L=en&IDINI=26089
Photos:
http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=26088&L=en&IDINI=26089

Posted from Austria

By Inara | April 9th, 2007 at 3:04 pm

I was sooo happy to see Tiago perform well for Portugal. He’s such an important part of Lyon’s attack that I always get disappointed when he fails to make an impact in the NT. I really hope he can become more of a regular, though once Deco is fit again, I’m not sure how likely that would be.

Posted from United States

By Ceasar L | April 9th, 2007 at 4:26 pm

Inara

If you follow this site (which I totally recommend) you would see that Tiago is actually a replacement for Maniche’s role on the NT. He sits back further than Deco. His job is to help out defensively and offensively with long distance shots hopefully. And I think he’s doing that very well.
So I don’t think Deco’s return is going to change his position on the starting 11. They can both be on the field at the same time.
Anybody else here is welcome to add or clarify further (or totally disagree also, haha) if they’d like to my comments..

Posted from Canada

By Inara | April 10th, 2007 at 12:17 am

Are Maniche and Costinha off the team permanently?

I guess I’m always confused with Scolari’s lineup because it seems different every match, and since Tiago has only recently been a starter for Portugal, I am never sure exactly whose spot he has taken over. Tiago always seems to be “the guy who plays when Costinha, Petit, Deco, or Maniche are unavailable.”

Also, what formation does Scolari goes with. Is it a 4-3-3? 4-5-1?

Posted from United States

By Luis | April 10th, 2007 at 8:32 am

Inara – Tiago has been a regular contributor for PT since 2006 WC qualification started. Bit by bit he has worked his way onto the starting 11. While I think it is important for Scolari to keep all options available, I think Costinha and Maniche will start to fade. If for no other reason, then because they seem to always have issues at whatever club they play for.

As for the formation, you are correct both times. PT usually plays with a 4-3-3 that easily turns into a 4-5-1 when they are on attack.

Posted from United States

By Ceasar L | April 10th, 2007 at 8:44 am

With Scolari you never know but I think that Tiago will be the go to guy in Maniche’s spot. Maniche hasn’t been playing regular first team ball but Tiago has. Plus Tiago is a leader and our future in that position and Scolari sees that.
As far as Costinha goes, it was always him and Petit sharing the mid stopper job. If one one hurt the other stepped in. Petit has long ball skills and Costinha maybe a little better tackler? I think for the near future it’s Petit’s job and I suspect Costinha may not be in any long term plans. I think Manuel Fernandes (Everton) may be the new face at this position for the NT.
Formations I’m not sure of? NT seems to use a flowing/change as needed 4-5-1 to 4-3-3 as the opposition dictates.
Like Pedro has said many times on this site, we are midfield strong and historically short of true strikers. Bottom line we live and die by our midfield. That means controlling games for us and scoring the majority of our goals. And we have the talent if they spread the burden around.
Deco, Ronaldo, Quaresma, Simao, Tiago, Nani, Viana, etc.

Posted from Canada

By Pedro P | April 10th, 2007 at 11:41 am

Scolari says it’ll be time to move on, after Euro 2008. He also leaves the door open for a possible return to coach O Escrete, or another national team, while staying in Portugal. He refers Guus Hiddink’s example (coaching Russia, living on Holland) and he reminds that 75% of the brazilian players play in Europe. His wife also wants to stay in Europe… (PT) http://www.ojogo.pt/23-48/artigo624082.asp

Posted from Netherlands

By Luis | April 10th, 2007 at 12:56 pm

Scolari has been saying that he’s leaving after Euro 2008 for a while now. I think he’s right with respect to a coach’s shelf life. Six years is about right. After that, some fresh air may be necessary. But the question is, who do we turn to next? Any ideas? Suggestions would be great to help put together a post on this topic.

Posted from United States

By Laurie | April 10th, 2007 at 10:52 pm

Luis, I’ll give you brownie points if you can find me a photo of CRon embracing Evra after the 7th goal today.;-)

Posted from United States

By Carlos | April 11th, 2007 at 2:37 am

Well the most probable solution seemed, of course, J Mourinho – until yesterday. Chelsea defeated Valencia CF 2-1 in the evening and there won’t be any more criticism about their coach. Moreover, ManU lost their match in the previous PL round and Chelsea are only three points behind the top. That’s not too bad for one of the best leagues in the world, is it?
If Chelsea even win the CL, they won’t ever let go of J Mourinho, who is happy at Stamford Bridge, too, as long as his team is successful. And as long as his salary is alright.
I know Mourinho well as a club coach, but I don’t know how he will perform as PT’s NT coach. He surely is a patriot, but still takes much more stock in his own weal than Scolari. This is OK for a club coach, but whenever he happens to be handed over a NT, he would have to stop it.

Another possibility would be Manuel José de Jesus. He was in the talks a few months ago, but is said to be even more excessive and weird than Mourinho.
As you probably know is he currently coaching Al-Ahly in Egypt, which is the best club in Africa – this is what many people say.
He reached the third place in the Club WC 2006 and won the African CL in the same year as well as in 2005 and 2001.
It’s a fact that he is constantly sinking into oblivion in his fatherland, he doesn’t get any more offers from Portugal, but he still has the idea of coaching the NT in his mind. He is around 60 now, but this only confirms his experience and knowledge.
José already coached Benfica, Sporting, Boavista and Belenenses, I think.
There’s no doubt about his friendly character, but I’m not sure about his ability of taking so much responsibility.

Posted from Austria

By Luis | April 11th, 2007 at 10:57 am

Hmnnn…how might I use those brownie points? Perhaps to get you to write a guest blog, once in a while, for a little PT footy blog project I have in the works? You can even pick the topic as long as there is some connection to PT. Deal?

Posted from United States

By Laurie | April 12th, 2007 at 12:26 am

Luis, I kmow NOTHING about Portuguese football. End of subject. But you can tell me more about your Portuguese footy project.

Posted from United States

By Carlos | April 12th, 2007 at 2:30 am

Hey Luis, I’m interested…
Not in writing your guest blog, of course, I’ve got to do more than enough with my own blogs. Tell me when you’re ready, OK?
But if it’s only about photos, I don’t know…

Posted from Austria

By Luis | April 12th, 2007 at 8:32 am

Laurie – Oh come on, I’m sure you can dig deep into your creative powder keg. I’m not looking for expertise in PT footy, more like an outsiders view on the national team when they play. Just once in a blue moon if you should feel the motivation. If not, not biggie. Perhaps a profile of a Portuguese player in the French league or something. If you’re not interested or you can’t for any reason, I certainly understand. I just thought it would be neat to get other fans views. It gets boring listening to ourselves talk sometimes.

Carlos – don’t worry, I’ll be sure to keep you all informed. It will take me some time to completely design and configure everything. I also have to find a way to maintain this one as I can’t turn my back on the little blog that started it all. I’m hoping to launch it sometime this Summer. Stay tuned…

Posted from United States

By Laurie | April 13th, 2007 at 12:33 am

Keep me informed about your new project. But I’m still waiting for that photo…

Posted from United States

By Carlos | April 13th, 2007 at 3:50 am

Hey, guys (and girl), are you letting me down about the coach issue??? Don’t you have any ideas or opinions?

Posted from Austria

By Daria | April 13th, 2007 at 7:52 am

I just read that CR has signed a new 5-year deal at Man Utd. I guess that means the report in AS the other day saying he was going to be at Madrid for sure next season was about as well informed as they usually are! It is also too bad that Benfica is out of the UEFA Cup but there is always next year and a great race in the league to finish this year!

Posted from Canada

By Luis | April 13th, 2007 at 9:38 am

Special delivery for you Laurie.

Ronaldo and Evra

Looks like Evra doesn’t appreciate the man love. Would you run from a Ronaldo hug? Best I can do so far, but I’ll keep looking for something more tender.

Posted from United States

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