Portugal faced off against Belgium at the Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla earlier tonight as they looked to earn a win and book a place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA European Championships. The Portuguese players made a bright start to the game but struggled to be clinical in the final third. They conceded the opening goal in the 42nd minute when Thorgan Hazard scored a beauty from long range.
Both sides fought tooth and nail in the second 45 minutes but failed to add to the scoreline. The contest finished with Portugal suffering a narrow 1-0 loss away in Seville and thus, crashing out of the Euros.
Let’s take a look at how each Portugal player fared during the match against Belgium.
GK: Rui Patricio – 5.5/10
The talented keeper did not have a save to make in the game. He was helpless when attempting to stop Thorgan Hazard’s ferocious strike which turned out to be the only goal of the game.
RB: Diogo Dalot – 6.5/10
Dalot was solid defensively and won a couple of aerial duels as well. However, he struggled to influence the game in the final third.
CB: Pepe – 6/10
The veteran defender used his experience well and did what was asked of him at the centre of the Portugal defence. He was good on the ball and created one key chance in the opposition half.
CB: Ruben Dias – 7/10
The Manchester City centre-half kept a good shape at the back and did enough to keep Romelu Lukaku quiet throughout the 90 minutes.
LB: Raphaël Guerreiro – 7/10
He performed his defensive duties well and was quite lively going forward. Guerreiro engineered a couple of decent chances for his teammates and was unfortunate to hit the crossbar with his goal-bound attempt in the second half.
CM: Joao Moutinho – 6/10
The Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder had some bright moments in the first half. However, he lacked energy at the centre of the park and got replaced in the 55th minute.
CM: Joao Palhinha – 7/10
Palhinha got stuck in with multiple tackles to disrupt Belgium’s rhythm in the game but his shooting was woeful tonight.
CM: Renato Sanches – 7.5/10
Sanches was arguably Portugal’s best player on the field tonight. He made two good chances for others around him and completed several powerful dribbles with the ball. The midfield powerhouse was a real handful for the Belgian defenders during his time on the field.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 6/10
The Manchester City winger was full of energy and running down the right wing but lacked the cutting edge in the attacking third.
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo – 7.5/10
Ronaldo was a constant threat for the Belgian centre-backs and got plenty of opportunities to find the back of the net. However, he failed to take any of his chances during the 90 minutes in what turned out to be a frustrating night for him.
LW: Diogo Jota – 6.5/10
The Liverpool talent made a few promising runs on the left flank and orchestrated some meaningful openings for his teammates in the final third.
Substitutes:
ST: Joao Felix – 6/10
The talented whizkid wasted a couple of decent chances to net the equaliser.
CAM: Bruno Fernandes – 6.5/10
Fernandes tried his best to get himself involved in and around the Belgian penalty box but did not have his shooting boots on tonight.
ST: Andre Silva – 6/10
He had a few half-chances but could not take any of them.
CDM: Danilo Pereira – 6.5/10
Pereira put in a battling performance in midfield.
CM: Sergio Oliviera – 6/10
He added some energy to the Portugal midfield.
