Poland and Portugal faced off in Marseille in the first Quarter Final of Euro 2016. Poland took an early lead in the first half which was cancelled by a superb strike from teenager Renato Sanches. The game was pretty dull overall with both sides missing several good chances, there were no more goals in regulation time. Extra time was no different before penalties were summoned and Portugal won 5-3 with Blaszczykowski being the unlucky one to miss. Here are 5 things we learnt from Poland vs Portugal.
1 Poland have themselves to blame
Poland took a really early lead from a superb strike by Robert Lewandowski after 2 minutes. They should have really used that goal for their advantage and should have gone all attack after that , instead they allowed Portugal to come back in the game and ultimately paid the price. They were wasteful after that and despite the heartbreaking they should look back and be proud of their achievement.
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2 Portugal were unconvincing, again
Portugal’s story of Euro 2016 has been pretty much the same, they get the job done, somehow. They drew all their games in qualifying , failed to muster a shot on target in regulation time against Croatia and it was much of a same story today. They have now reached the semi finals without winning a single game in regulation time and could really write the history books if they somehow manage to reach the finals with similar performance.
3 Renato Sanches is destined for greatness.
No one has ever had such a meteoric rise that Renato Sanches has had. The 18 year old had not even played a senior club game before october and how has scored for his country in the European Championships , a month after earning a 35 million transfer to Bayern Munich. Sanches played a quick one – two with Nani before firing home Portugal’s equalizer. He showed his versatility in second half by playing on the wing as well. Carlo Ancelotti must be the most excited man in football.
4 Cristiano Ronaldo was wasteful
Unlike his usual self, Cristiano Ronaldo was nonetheless wasteful against Poland. He missed quite a few chances to list and a player of his caliber should have really buried those chances. Probably his only contribution to the game was the opening penalty which he coolly slotted home. Portugal need their best player to be in fine form in the semi final.
5 Portugal await Wales or Belgium after Poland vs Portugal
Portugal will now face either Wales or Belgium in the Semi Finals. Both these teams can cause threats to this unconvincing portuguese team and it will be really interesting to see how manager Fernando Santos approaches this semi final.
