Portugal 3 – 0 Hungary : Paving the road to reconciliation

There you have it: Portugal is back on track to play the World Cup. The team played some gutsy soccer, at times slow at times fast and beautiful, more of the later… finally. The goals showed up and with them my most unexpected surprise: Simão. Thank you for proving me wrong boy. Loved it!

Three games played an important role yesterday towards our final goal:

1) Portugal 3 – 0 Hungary
Obviously this one was our main concern but I’ll get back to it in a paragraph or two.

2) Denmark 1 – 0 Sweden
A draw would suffice but Denmark made sure there remains no doubt as to their merit in qualifying. Congrats to the Danes are in order.

3) Ukraine 1 – 0 England
The importance of this game can only truly be measured if we actually win the next 2 games (Malta and Play-off). Ukraine’s victory against undefeated England (entered the game with 8 games, 8 victories) places them in second place ahead of Croatia with only Andorra to go (9 defeats). Meaning Portugal is now in the top 4 seed for the play-offs, avoiding the likes of France, Russia and Greece.

Back to the game.

We started the game shortly after Denmark scored against the Swedes. The stage was set for a fantastic evening. Second place in the group up for grabs, 50000+ spectators in the stands. What an environment! I was hyped. This was it. Turning point moment.

First surprise was seeing Pedro Mendes in the line-up. Got a last minute call. Only 2 caps. Never played in the starting eleven. And now Queiroz had him playing a very important role. I thought we were past the experiments faze? Mind you I’ve always thought Pedro earned his spot in the team a long time ago and should have had more opportunities to prove he did belong in that starting eleven. Also Simão in the initial line-up was a let down, an expected one. At the starting whistle I wasn’t looking to favorably at Queiroz. Not at all.

Along came the seventh minute and… fantastic save by Eduardo! WTF?! Was that a wake-up call? It was indeed. We picked up the pace and started to press Hungary in their defensive midfield. At the 18th minute when we were just starting to confirm our dominance on the pitch Ronaldo did his magic allowing Simão to finish off what he started.

2 Minutes after the goal Simão got his shot blocked by the keeper. Things were shaping up. Simão was putting in a great effort. Mendes was irreproachable. I was utterly wrong. Queiroz knows his stuff. But then Ronaldo made a sign to the bench asking to be replaced. And shortly after he limped his way off the pitch subbed by Nani. The injury he brought from Real Madrid wasn’t fully cured after all. He will not appear for Portugal against Malta either as it was just confirmed his ankle injury isn’t recoverable on such short notice. There goes any chance of seeing him score in the WC qualifiers. Only the play-off left. Hopefully he will be fit by then.
We were a bit lost on the pitch after this unexpected loss. Perhaps the Hungarian felt a surge of confidence now that Ronaldo was no longer a threat. The last 15 minutes of the 1st half were divided, Hungary had one shot just wide, nearly scratching the post, and Carvalho headed the ball just over the bar on a perfect Deco cross. At the 45th minute we had a Ricardo moment: Eduardo left the goal to intercept a cross only to see the ball headed against the bar by Juhasz. Bloody hell! I thought we were past these Ricardo moments with this new and improved keeper!! My mind keeps playing over and over Greece’s goal in the Euro 2004 final… be gone… now.

As the second half unfolded I grew restless. We needed a second goal to settle our game. If we didn’t score we might retract and invite Hungary to press us against the ropes. Images from the Denmark game at the Estadio da Luz silently crept into my mind. Ah but now we have Liedson! And “Liedson resolve!” is Sporting’s favorite slogan. Works for me. When Bruno Alves got the ball I was yelling “SHOOT!!!” but luckily my voice went unheard and he volleyed the ball to Liedson for a strong header. 2-0. Bagged this succer.

Shortly after the goal I was commenting on Duda’s poor performance when he crossed one in for Simão to finish beautifully. No preparation just fired away into the back of the net.

Good way for Simão to snatch the Man-of-the-Match award and Queiroz to start paving the road to reconciliation with our soccer loving nation.

Group standings with 1 game to go:
Denmark – 21
Portugal – 16
Sweden – 15
Hungary – 13
Albania – 7
Malta – 1

Next games:
Denmark – Hungary (Oct. 14)
Sweden – Albania (Oct. 14)
Portugal – Malta (Oct. 14)