Portugal crushed Qatar 4-0 at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton tonight, securing their passage to the knockout rounds. Hélio Sousa made two changes with Ivo Rodriguez replacing Gonçalo Guedes and Chico Ramos in for Raphael Guzzo. Ivo repaid Sousa’s faith with a man-of-the-match performance.
Gelson Martins orchestrated Andre Silva’s opener for the Seleção, then Ivo with a spectacular bicycle kick (pictured) made it 2-0 at half time. Ivo headed in his second goal after the break before assisting João Vigário to make it 4-0 and another impressive victory for the Portuguese youngsters.
Portugal started the game strongly in Hamilton, fluidity in their movement and confident passing resulting in Qatar being held in their own half. Ahmed Al Saadi had two half chances for Qatar in the opening stages but Portugal appeared most likely to open the scoring, Rony Lopes’ run through the middle ended by a foul from Assim Madibo.
Marauding full-backs
Chico Ramos had a chance after breaking through the Qatar defence as Portugal began to consolidate their dominance. Full-backs Rafa and Riquicho displayed eagerness to press forward and contribute in attack, their overlaps and combinations with wingers Ivo and Gelson Martins causing Qatar all sorts or problems.
Qatar managed to string passes together but were unable to trouble André Moreira in goal. A sloppy back pass from Serigne Abdou gave André Silva half a chance, Yousef Hassan racing out of his goal just in time to deny the FC Porto striker. Portugal wouldn’t be denied however, and minutes later took a deserved lead through Silva.
Fine interplay on the right wing between Riquicho and Martins saw the Sporting winger cut infield, his left footed ball over the defence finding Silva who side footed from close range for his second goal of the tournament. Silva fired another effort narrowly wide of the post before Portugal doubled their lead just before the break.
Gelson Martins won a corner which was taken quickly, Portugal’s passing and movement leaving Qatar chasing shadows which resulted in Chico Ramos releasing Rony Lopes into the box. Driving towards the byline, Lopes’ cross was cleared to Ramos who headed the ball to an unmarked Ivo Rodrigues who produced a spectacular overhead bicycle kick past Hassan.
Portugal went into the break with 69% of the ball, twice as many shots as Qatar and a comfortable 2-0 lead. The second half began where it left off, André Silva’s looping header no trouble for Hassan before the striker made space for himself on the edge of the area, his shot narrowly missing the top corner.
Chico Ramos picked up Portugal’s first booking on the hour mark and was swiftly replaced by Bikel. Akram Afif had Qatar’s best chance of the match shortly afterwards, his shot from the penalty spot curled just wide. Gelson Martins then went on another run and shot over the bar, his last contribution before making way for Nuno Santos.
Super-sub Santos
Santos provided a goal and an assist as a late substitute against Senegal, and the Benfica forward was at it yet again as he wasted no time in providing Portugal’s third goal. A quick throw to Santos saw the Benfica attacker produce a lovely left footed cross to the back post, Ivo rising high above the helpless Fahad Al-Abdulrahman to head past Hassan for a 3-0 lead.
Hélio Sousa made his final substitution in the 69th minute as João Vigário replaced the hard-working André Silva up front. Minutes later Portugal made it 4-0. More fine interplay resulted in Ivo isolating Al-Abdulrahman, the Guimarães winger bamboozling the defender before driving into the area, his pinpoint cutback finding Vigário who produced a textbook finish into the top corner.
The game fizzled out in the final stages as Portugal were content to keep Qatar scoreless and see out the match. Another impressive victory for the Portuguese youngsters secures their passage to the knockout stage, and a draw against Colombia on Saturday will be enough to ensure they qualify top of Group C.
Ivo Rodrigues on fire
Man-of-the-match Ivo Rodrigues linked well with both full-backs, had no problem tracking back to help Portugal win possession, scored two goals and made the fourth for a complete performance. Chico Ramos replaced Guzzo and had a fine game, releasing his forwards with accurate passes and making clever runs into dangerous positions.
Martins was a constant threat for Portugal, André Silva once again having a multitude of chances and taking his goal with a touch of class. Rony Lopes continued to find it hard to influence the game between the Qatar defence and midfield, while Podstawski controlled Portugal from his deep midfield position. Joao Nunes, Domingos Duarte and André Moreria performed well against a weak Qatar attack, Rafa and Riquicho contributing with attacks down the flanks.
Portugal’s youngsters were a pleasure to watch once again as they made it 7 goals scored with none conceded in a fantastic start to the tournament. Colombia will likely be a sterner test but with confidence high and so many options available to Sousa, they will fear no nation as the knockout stage awaits. Forca!
by Matthew Marshall
Watch match highlights
Qatar: Yousof Hassan, Jasem Mohamed, Salem Al Hajri (Tameem Almuhaza, 83), Serigne Abdou, Fahad Shanin, Assim Madibo, Ahmad Moein, Ahmed Alsadi, Akram Afif (Sultan Alkuwari, 77), Almoez Ali e Jassim Al Jalabi (Abdullah Abdulsalam, 61). Seleccionador: Felix Sanchez (espanhol).
Portugal: André Moreira, Mauro Riquicho, João Nunes, Domingos Duarte, Rafa, Tomás Podstawski, Francisco Ramos (Bikel, 62), Rony Lopes, Gelson Martins (Nuno Santos, 66), Ivo Rodrigues e André Silva (João Vigário, 69). Seleccionador: Hélio Sousa.
Goals:
[0-1] André Silva, 34’
[0-2] Ivo Rodrigues, 42’
[0-3] Ivo Rodrigues, 66’
[0-4] João Vigário, 74’
