| PORTUGAL |  | 2 | : | 4 |  | SPAIN |
0 : 0 a.e.t.
ORDER OF PENALTIES
Xabi Alonso (0:0), Moutinho (0:0)
Iniesta (0:1), Pepe (1:1)
Pique (1:2), Nani (2:2)
Sergio Ramos (2:3), Bruno Alves (2:3)
Fabregas (2:4)
My match rating: ★
As predicted, Portugal managed to out-play Spain for much of the match by simply matching their playing style. Bento must have realized, as Prandelli also had in the group stage, that the way to play Spain is to not play them. Keep the ball, make possession, and accelerate suddenly to create scoring chances. The more you do it, the less Spain has a chance to. Surely enough, if we look at the ball possession statistics we see that Spain held the ball a mere 58% of the time. While still good, it's a huge change for the 70%+ that we'd gotten used to in the previous rounds. By handling a good chunk of the play, Portugal handled the match.
But of course that's not enough: you also have to score. Portugal didn't, and while their opportunities were not nearly as vivid as Italy's against England, they were still pretty damn good. More importantly, they had more than Spain did, at least during regulation. Spain are good scorers, but what they're really good at is not being scored against. Del Bosque's somewhat improvised defense, with Jordi Alba filling Puyol's large shoes, worked out remarkably well throughout the tournament, as Spain hasn't taken a single goal since Di Natale's bender in the first half of the first game of the first round. Ronaldo may not have shined yesterday, but a good deal of that has to do with the fact that the Spanish defenders didn't give him a chance to take clean shots.
The penalties were a weird affair. I struggle to recall a match where this happened. For one, both teams missed the first penalty, Spain with the France match-winner Alonso and Portugal with Moutinho. Both were saves, too, and not misses (though as I've said before, every saved penalty is also basically a miss). Then we saw two successful series of good penalties, including a half-Panenka by Sergio Ramos. I was surprised, for Ramos is barely able to kick the ball at all, let alone kick it pretty. But in it went, and although not as beautiful or meaningful as Pirlo's, it was a nice penalty. Then something odd happened. Bruno Alves went to kick the third penalty, but right after placing the ball on the spot he walked back to the center, and Nani came to kick the penalty instead. I gotta assume that they were simply confused as whose turn it was next, for Alves did eventually kick the fourth penalty. But it betrayed a lack of focus, which in a war of nerves like a penalty shootout can be fatal. And it was, for Alves eventually missed the fourth penalty, giving Fabregas the chance to take Spain through to the final. Of course, Cesc did.
Perhaps the most stunning thing of all is that Ronaldo didn't even get to kick a penalty. Alright, by now it's understood that I hate the guy, but he is the most skilled Portuguese player... so why would you ever put yourself in a situation where he might not even contribute?! Usually, the best penalty takers will kick either first (to put your team up, or even, and thus encourage the rest) or fourth (for more often than not that ends up being the decisive penalty). The fifth penalty is rarely decisive, especially if your team is second in kicking order, so I have no idea what was going through Bento's head as he picked the list. As them Catholics say, "mystery of faith."
Now Spain awaits the winner of Germany-Italy, which is played later today. Whatever happens, it will be an awesome match. Spain-Germany would be the rematch of the Euro 2008 final and of the 2010 World Cup semifinal. Spain won both 1-0, both times displaying their trademark tiki-taka and effectively neutralizing the more creative German offense. The 2008 final is of course more relevant to Euro history: there has never been a repeat final in two consecutive editions of the same major international tournament. Spain-Italy, then, would be very interesting for three reasons. One, the teams are quickly developing a rivalry. Spain knocked Italy out in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals after a tight match resolved by a tense penalty shootout, and then of course they were in the same group in this edition. Two, it would be the only time in the Euro or World Cup history that the two finalists come from the same group. Third and much more interestingly, so far Italy has proven to be the only team capable of truly challenging Spain. Del Bosque's team struggled mightily in the first match and only came as close to winning it as Italy did. Should they meet again in Sunday's final, Spain would still be favorite, but Italy would give them a run for their money.
ORDER OF PENALTIES
Xabi Alonso (0:0), Moutinho (0:0)
Iniesta (0:1), Pepe (1:1)
Pique (1:2), Nani (2:2)
Sergio Ramos (2:3), Bruno Alves (2:3)
Fabregas (2:4)
My match rating: ★
My man of the match: Casillas (S)
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
But of course that's not enough: you also have to score. Portugal didn't, and while their opportunities were not nearly as vivid as Italy's against England, they were still pretty damn good. More importantly, they had more than Spain did, at least during regulation. Spain are good scorers, but what they're really good at is not being scored against. Del Bosque's somewhat improvised defense, with Jordi Alba filling Puyol's large shoes, worked out remarkably well throughout the tournament, as Spain hasn't taken a single goal since Di Natale's bender in the first half of the first game of the first round. Ronaldo may not have shined yesterday, but a good deal of that has to do with the fact that the Spanish defenders didn't give him a chance to take clean shots.
The penalties were a weird affair. I struggle to recall a match where this happened. For one, both teams missed the first penalty, Spain with the France match-winner Alonso and Portugal with Moutinho. Both were saves, too, and not misses (though as I've said before, every saved penalty is also basically a miss). Then we saw two successful series of good penalties, including a half-Panenka by Sergio Ramos. I was surprised, for Ramos is barely able to kick the ball at all, let alone kick it pretty. But in it went, and although not as beautiful or meaningful as Pirlo's, it was a nice penalty. Then something odd happened. Bruno Alves went to kick the third penalty, but right after placing the ball on the spot he walked back to the center, and Nani came to kick the penalty instead. I gotta assume that they were simply confused as whose turn it was next, for Alves did eventually kick the fourth penalty. But it betrayed a lack of focus, which in a war of nerves like a penalty shootout can be fatal. And it was, for Alves eventually missed the fourth penalty, giving Fabregas the chance to take Spain through to the final. Of course, Cesc did.
Now Spain awaits the winner of Germany-Italy, which is played later today. Whatever happens, it will be an awesome match. Spain-Germany would be the rematch of the Euro 2008 final and of the 2010 World Cup semifinal. Spain won both 1-0, both times displaying their trademark tiki-taka and effectively neutralizing the more creative German offense. The 2008 final is of course more relevant to Euro history: there has never been a repeat final in two consecutive editions of the same major international tournament. Spain-Italy, then, would be very interesting for three reasons. One, the teams are quickly developing a rivalry. Spain knocked Italy out in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals after a tight match resolved by a tense penalty shootout, and then of course they were in the same group in this edition. Two, it would be the only time in the Euro or World Cup history that the two finalists come from the same group. Third and much more interestingly, so far Italy has proven to be the only team capable of truly challenging Spain. Del Bosque's team struggled mightily in the first match and only came as close to winning it as Italy did. Should they meet again in Sunday's final, Spain would still be favorite, but Italy would give them a run for their money.
.
.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment