Irish Sun
04 Jul 2024, 05:30 GMT+10
Gaining advantage in a football match or a tournament may at times jot down to individual players and when we consider the 5-star players in the Euro this year, the top three nations are Franceof course, England, and Portugal. However, something about Portugals performance this year is quite superior to every other year, including their Euro-winning campaign in 2016.
This leads us to believe that Ronaldo will be the one to lift the Euro Trophy for Portugal this year, and we have the best sports betting offers and odds for you because not only is this the strongest Portugal team ever assembled, but this is also the first time that Portugal has won every single qualifying game in preparation for the Euros. At the 55-minute mark against Turkiye, we even witnessed Ronaldo assist Bruno Fernandes instead of taking the goal-scoring shot for himself.
After firing Fernando Santos, who brought Portugal their first two international trophies, Portugal appointed former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez in his place. Despite his lack of tournament success, This Portugal, under Roberto Martinez, is different from past teams. With Ronaldo still in their ranks, they don't solely rely on him to carry the load of goal-scoring, this Portuguese team has more competent players such as Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joo Flix, Diogo Jota, Joo Cancelo, Pepe, and a lot of goal-scorers and game-changers all around the team.
This team works much better as a unit compared to all the other Portuguese teams we've seen in the past. So, with all these things in favor of Portugal, could they win the Euros this summer? They have the talent on paper to win the tournament, their squad is full of experienced players in their prime and younger players; it's just a matter of how well they play as a unit.
Under Roberto Martinez, Portugal has become far more fluid and aggressive in their style of play, something that Portuguese fans have been screaming out for, considering the players they have. Under Fernando Santos, Portugal was more conservative and counterattacking even when they had all the talents in the world. Yet under Martinez, they press much higher up on the field, tend to play out from the back more, and have switched from a back four to a back three.
Portugal now has a much more attacking style of play, as a lot of their talent lies in their attacking areas when you have holding midfield talents like Palhinha, Matheus Nunes, Rben Neves, or even the youngster Joo Neves at Benfica, who has proven to be a very talented midfielder and is tactically and technically so good, it allows them to be a little more aggressive attacking-wise.
In defense, they have a lot of good center-backs, which allows them to play with three at the back. If we look at the squad that Portugal is bringing to the Euros, Portugal has some much-needed veterans like Pepe, who is 40 but is still somehow a masterful center-back and the oldest player to start in the Euros.
For wingbacks, they have players like Nuno Mendes and Diogo Dalot, who will be allowed to attack a lot more in this setup. Ronaldo will be playing centrally as a number nine, allowing players like Joo Flix or even Bernardo Silva to play alongside Ronaldo but drop deep into the number ten role when needed. They are a free-flowing team, not too focused on giving Ronaldo the ball and hoping like they did under previous systems. This team has a lot more belief in themselves and they play much better as a unit.
The top three teams in the Euro are France, England, and Portugal and if they compete together on the pitch, Portugal could likely go all the way and win the tournament outright. It's all about how they do in the knockouts now that they've just had their best qualifying campaign ever and are the most stacked the squad has ever been.
Although Ronaldo is now in Saudi Arabia, don't be misledhe is still a world-class finisher. He just proved that against Ireland, and he continues to be a world-class leader, which is why he leads Portugal as captain. This Portuguese team is genuinely stacked and has proven that they play well together. Under Roberto Martinez, they play a good, free-flowing, attacking style of football. They could go all the way and win the Euros.
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