Portuguese Football in English
Portugal began their UEFA U19 European Championship title defence in Armenia with a comprehensive 3-0 win against Italy at Banants Stadium in Yerevan.
Gonçalo Cardoso headed home a corner to open the scoring, Gonçalo Ramos and Félix Correia with two quick goals after half-time giving Portugal an unassailable lead.
Cristiano Ronaldo has plenty of experience lifting trophies, but it was a special moment when he lifted silverware again after winning the inaugural UEFA Nations League. When Portugal beat the Netherlands in the final at the Estádio do Dragão earlier this month, the captain got to taste victory on home soil to finally banish memories of the shock defeat against Greece in the Euro 2004 final in Lisbon.
While it wasn’t the World Cup or the European Championship, all of Europe’s nations took part in the tournament to reach the four-team finals, and the fact the Seleção came out on top reinforces the message that Portugal are a force to be reckoned with as they look to defend their Euro crown.
Portugal’s 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup campaign will be remembered as a missed opportunity, the 1989 and 1991 winners crashing out in the group stage after a 1-1 draw against South Africa. Hélio Sousa’s side contained enough quality to go all the way, but a combination of factors resulted in an early and disappointing exit.
Having travelled to Poland to cover my first international tournament as a journalist, I am still scratching my head and trying to come to terms with Portugal’s early exit. In the following article I will offer some potential reasons why Portugal failed and what it means in the grand scheme of things.
Portugal 1-0 NetherlandsThe Seleção defeated the Netherlands 1-0 tonight at the Estádio do Dragão to become champions of the inaugural Nations League tournament. With an intelligent and organized performance, Portugal outshot the Dutch 18-to-4 with Bernardo Silva, Danilo, Semedo, and Bruno Fernandes each putting in wonderful individual efforts.
Though oft-maligned for his subpar performances during the World Cup in 2018, Guedes showed great resiliency to come into the side for João Félix and win the match for Portugal with a cracking finish on the hour mark, completing his outstanding return to competitive football after spending much of the 2018/19 season sidelined through injury.
Preview and Podcast ahead of final
Portugal host Netherlands in the inaugural final of the UEFA Nations League Finals at Porto’s Estádio Do Dragão on Sunday. A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick inspired the Seleção to a 3-1 win against Switzerland in the semi-finals with 19-year-old João Félix making his debut.
For tips on who to back to lift the trophy, Freetips.com are offering their readers free tips and a preview of the final. Let’s take a look at some of the main talking points ahead of the big game and a brief rundown of the Netherlands.
