The Seleção have emerged as one of the favourites at the U20 World Cup after winning all three of their group stage matches in impressive fashion.
They will begin the knockout stages on Thursday in Hamilton against tournament hosts New Zealand. The All Whites advanced to the round of 16 after beating Myanmar 5-1 in their previous match. The winner of this match-up will face either Brazil or Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
PortuGoal previews Portugal-New Zealand.
The Opponents
New Zealand are making their fourth consecutive appearance at this tournament. They qualified for the round of 16 after finishing third in group A. The All Whites were held to a scoreless draw in the opening match against Ukraine. They were then defeated 4-0 by the United States, but recovered to earn their first victory last time out against Myanmar.
English manager Darren Bazeley had a successful playing career with Watford and Wolverhampton before moving to New Zealand before retiring. He has been in control of the squad since 2013 and was previously with the country’s U17 programme.
Bazeley admitted this week that there was extra pressure on his squad to succeed in front of their home fans, but insisted they had little to prove at this point.
"We can't lose anything going into this game. We've got out of the group stage, made that bit of history, won a game at a World Cup, and now we've got a chance to really do something special."
"They [Portugal] look like a very good team. It is going to be a big challenge," Bazeley admitted.
Tactical Breakdown
Portugal earned an impressive 3-1 victory against a strong Colombian side in the last match. Hélio Sousa’s squad finished with a perfect record in the group stage and outscored their opponents 10-1. The Portuguese manager praised his squad’s consistency after beating Colombia.
“We knew we were going to have problems because we were taking on a team with a lot of qualities, not just in technical terms but also in the way they set themselves out on the pitch. We were aware that we had to be strong all the time. Today we knew what to do when we had the ball and also when we didn't, which is also important,” he said.
Sousa rested some key players against Colombia in preparation for the knockout stages. “It was also important to give certain players some game time. Some had not played for 15 days. We need our players to be at full strength in order to get stronger,” he said.
Tomás Podstawski, Rony Lopes and Gelson Martins are expected to return to the starting line-up against New Zealand. Lopes is yet to show his best form at this tournament. Benfica winger Nuno Santos has been excellent in a limited role so far. Midfielder Francisco Ramos will be suspended for the match.
New Zealand continues to show signs of improvement, advancing to the group stage for the first time. And there is plenty of experience on the squad. Bill Tuiloma, Matthew Ridenton and Alex Rufer have all played for the senior squad. Team captain Tuiloma is a highly-rated defender in the Olympique de Marseille youth system.
New Zealand have used a 4-3-3 formation so far in this tournament. Manager Bazeley will be looking to slow down Portugal’s high-powered offense by defending deep. The squad was seen practicing penalties in training this week ahead of this match. Midfielder Clayton Lewis was handed his second yellow card last time out against Myanmar and will be suspended.
Probable line-ups:
Portugal: André Moreira, Mauro Riquicho, João Nunes, Domingos Duarte, Rafa, Tomás Podstawski, Raphael Guzzo, Rony Lopes, Gelson Martins, Ivo Rodrigues and André Silva.
New Zealand: Nikola Tzanev, Deklan Wynne, Sam Brotherton, Bill Tuiloma, Brock Messenger, Moses Dyer, Alex Rufer, Joel Stevens, Monty Patterson, Hudson-Wihongi and Noah Billingsley.
By Rui Miguel Martins
For more from Rui (twitter: @futebolfactory) check out Futebolfactory.com.
