Thread by @pythaginboots

#BELPOR Euro 2020 - Tactical Thread

Key points:

🔴Portugal Xmas Tree (Off the Ball)
🔴Belgium bringing their wing backs inside
🔴Portugal build up is awful (Huge distances)
🔴Time to move on from Ronaldo?
🔴Portugal right flank poor.

CC: @TacticalPad

#EURO2020 #BEL #POR

Portugal adopted a low block in the first half and it was a 4-3-2-1 (Xmas Tree) when they did not have the ball.

The plan was to make Belgium keep passing into wide areas and flood the middle so that KDB and Hazard could be locked off.

This did not work when Belgium rotated the position of their forward line, confusing the Portuguese defence.

More importantly, Belgium outnumbered in the middle by bringing in Meunier and Thorgan, who was then able to shoot from distance shell-shocking Patricio and Dias.

The Portuguese build up has been an issue all tournament and even with Renato in there, there was not enough quality to break the lines in midfield. Why was Silva so wide?

Reminiscent of England, seems to be no gameplan or quality of how to progress the ball out of defence.

Enterprising subs by Portugal manager but he neglected the right flank. This made the attack very one sided down the left, with all the quality down there.

Belgium just focused on that flank.

Still no progressor through the middle, spreading the play and controlling the tempo.

Think it is time for Ronaldo to possibly retire and let this generation find a new system of football built around Felix. They looked broken all tournament, very hit and hope. They need to find some central midfield talent as it has been bang average all tournament bar Renato.

Ronaldo is most effective in a transition situation. Whilst he is being touted as a CF these days, he is not a physical presence in terms of hold up and bullying centre-halves... today he was almost 3 v 1 a lot, which was very tough on him.

Jota got some chances but wasteful.