Wasteful Portugal held by Austria

Portugal 0-0 Austria

It was a hugely frustrating night at the Parc des Princes for Portugal as the Seleção were held to a goalless draw despite dominating the match from start to finish.

Nani was denied by Austria goalkeeper Almer and hit the post, and Ronaldo missed a presentable chance in a one-sided first half.

The second half was the same story, with Almer saving brilliantly from Ronaldo and several chances going begging, none more so than a penalty that Ronaldo could only hit against the post.

 

With the early evening kick off between Iceland and Hungary ending in a 1-1 draw, there was all to play for in the later Portugal v Austria fixture at Parc des Princes in Paris. A large Portuguese expatriate community guaranteed good support for Seleção but Austria were to provide a testing opposition, especially with much to prove given their 0-2 defeat last week against Hungary.

Fernando Santos decided to make changes from the side that drew 1-1 with Iceland. Ricardo Quaresma came in on the right with William Carvalho filling the holding role in midfield. They replaced João Mário and Danilo Pereira respectively, as Santos kept to his variation of a 4-4-2 formation, occasionally morphing into 4-3-3 in attack. Ricardo Carvalho continued to partner Pepe in the centre of defence and Rui Patrício won his 49th cap for his country between the sticks. Up top, Cristiano Ronaldo played through the centre with Nani.

Austria, and their Swiss coach Marcel Koller, also made changes with Marcel Sabitzer replacing Marc Janko up front and Bayern Munich’s David Alaba moving further forward in the middle to replace Zlatko Junuzović. And in the centre of defence, Aleksandar Dragović was suspended and replaced by Sebastian Prödl. The Austrians needed a win here to get back into the group.

First Half

Portugal got the first half underway and immediately enjoyed a good spell of possession. However it was the Austrians who created the first moment of panic. In just the 2nd minute, Pepe’s short back pass left Rui Patrício with much to do and the Sporting stopper had to take evasive action and clear into touch. Seconds later, a cross from the right by Marcel Sabitzer found the head of Martin Harnik who lost the attention of Pepe but headed wide.

Nani had Portugal’s first good chance when he headed narrowly over the bar on 6 minutes, following good work by João Moutinho and Ricardo Quaresma. The latter making an immediate impact on the right-hand side for Portugal since being added to the starting XI.

On 12 minutes, Nani again caused problems in the Austria box. This time, he linked up well on the left with Cristiano Ronaldo before evading the challenge of Prödl and firing a low effort towards goal. Robert Almer was equal to it and pushed the ball away but the parry fell to Vieirinha who fired from range. David Alaba of Bayern Munich, deflected the shot over for a corner which then found William Carvalho. Almer was again equal to the shot to maintain the goalless opening.

Ten minutes later, Nani and Raphael Guerreiro linked well down the left. The full-back then fired in a low cross to the near post where Cristiano Ronaldo was waiting. His first time shot was sent just wide of Robert Almer’s near post but Portugal were by now dominating play and creating all the chances. It was clear that all was not well with the Austrian rearguard as Robert Almer consistently seemed at odds with his two centre-halves, Prödl and Martin Hinteregger.

Just before the half hour mark, Nani had Portugal’s best chance yet when a cross from the left by André Gomes was met by the head of the Fenerbahçe man. His header beat Almer but cannoned back off the post. João Moutinho then fired the rebound over from range as Portugal continued to persevere to find a way through the stubborn Austrian defence.

Half chances for Cristiano Ronaldo yielded no goals but Austria did then create a spark of light for their supporters with 5 minutes left until the break. A superb flick by Marko Arnautović found David Alaba running through on the right-hand side. The referee ruled that he was brought down by Pepe on the right-hand edge of the box. Alaba then waved away Stoke City’s Arnautović and stepped up to take the kick himself. Instead of crossing into the box, the Bayern Munich man went for goal and only a superb clearance by Vieirinha on the line kept the stalemate alive into the break.

Second Half

Austria got the second half underway still reeling from the battering they had received prior to the break. However, they managed to get themselves off to a decent start when holding midfielder Stefan Ilsanker saw his low drive from distance saved by Rui Patrício. It was a warning sign for Seleção that this plucky Austrian side would not let them rest on their laurels.

Ten minutes into the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo caught sight of goal again and his long range effort was brilliantly turned around the post by the ever impressive Robert Almer. It resulted in a corner for Portugal which was taken by Ricardo Quaresma. Ronaldo met it with his head, out jumping the Austrian defence, but Almer was again equal to the effort to push it away from danger.

Just after the hour mark, Ronaldo was again involved for Portugal as João Moutinho was brought down on the edge of the Austrian box. It was the Real Madrid star who stepped up to take the resulting free kick. He hit it with pace and cleared the wall, but was unfortunately not able to guide the ball back down again in time as it cleared Almer’s cross bar.

On 78 minutes it finally looked like Portugal would get off the mark, something their play had deserved throughout this game. A ball into the box was eyed up by the advancing Cristiano Ronaldo. However, with a tackle that any Springbok, All Black or Wallabies player would have been proud of, the Madeiran was dragged to the ground. Austrian centre-half Martin Hinteregger was the guilty party and was perhaps lucky to escape with just a yellow card.

With the vast majority of those in the stadium and watching at home putting their mortgages on an imminent 1-0 lead for Portugal, Ronaldo stepped up calmly and casually tried to place the ball low to Robert Almer’s right. However, the effort was narrowly off target and rebounded off the post and away from danger. Stalemate indeed and Ronaldo looked the Heavens for supreme guidance.

As if to emphasise the point that it wasn’t to be Ronaldo’s night, he did eventually find the net with a beautifully placed header from a free-kick. As the ball was floated over, Ronaldo got ahead of his marker to glance the ball across Almer and into the far corner. As the sizeable Portuguese support erupted and the Austrian players took their opportunities to look to the Heavens, the linesman correctly ruled that the Madeiran had strayed offside by 1-2 yards. It was that kind of night for Ronaldo and just goes to show that even the finest players have off-days.

As it was, that turned out to be the last meaningful chance as Portugal were made to settle for another point. It may not be the position the squad thought it would find itself in after playing Iceland and Austria, but be under no illusions that the side did everything but score in this game. It was a disciplined performance by the Austrians but Fernando Santos and his staff will feel this was two points dropped.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Ricardo Quaresma added value to the Portugal XI tonight. He gave the side a more potent width on the right-hand side and also dovetailed neatly with Nani when required. William Carvalho was also a calming influence in the holding role in midfield. Questions may be asked of Pepe who started this game very slowly but André Gomes put in another good shift on the left-hand side.

So where does that leave Seleção? Well, it means that Portugal now need to beat Hungary in the final group game to guarantee a spot in the next round of the European Championships. A draw would leave them relying on the result between Iceland and Austria to go their way. And so all to play for next Wednesday in Lyon, but questions will undoubtedly be asked by the major Portuguese tabloids as to why this undoubtedly talented squad has been unable to put away sides it has dominated.

by Paul Gellard

Portugal: Rui Patrício, Vierinha, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Ricardo Quaresma (João Mário 71’), João Moutinho, André Gomes (Éder 83’), Nani (Rafa Silva 89’), Cristiano Ronaldo (C)

Austria: Aller, Klein, Prödl, Hinterlegter, Fuchs (C), Ilsanker (Wimmer 87’), Baumgartlinger, Harzig, Alba (Schöpf 65), Arnautović, Sabitzer (Hinterher 85’)