Cristiano Ronaldo had the all-time men’s international goal scoring record and the Euro 2020 quarter-finals in his sights, but he hadn’t reckoned on a stubborn and resilient Belgium side, who defended solidly and provided the game’s most outstanding moment of technical quality.
Here, The Athletic’s Liam Twomey and Tim Spiers pick through the major talking points…
Ronaldo draws a blank on his big night
The stage was set for Cristiano Ronaldo. His team, his tournament, his Euros, his next goal record… but for once, he failed to take the spotlight.
One goal away from breaking Iran star Ali Daei’s international record of 109, Ronaldo didn’t really get close to breaking it, offering just a free kick (that was easily saved by Thibaut Courtois) and almost getting on the end of a couple of crosses. As the game progressed and his defending champions neared elimination, he came deeper, searching for the ball, for that magic moment, but, unlike against Hungary and France, when he didn’t play that well but still scored twice in both group games, he couldn’t drag Portugal through. It was one game too far.
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He’ll surely be around for the World Cup in 18 months, but at age 36 this may be his final Euros. If it is, he ends as the man who has played in the most of them (five), scored in the most of them (five) and scored the most goals in them (14). But none of those records will be a consolation to him tonight.
Hazard will have to step up if De Bruyne’s Euros are over
But which Hazard? Eden looked encouragingly sharp with the ball at his feet, regularly sucking in Portugal defenders to the benefit of his team-mates and the frustration of his opponents — he got Diogo Dalot a booking in classic fashion in the second half — and most pleasing of all, he appeared to step up his game in possession once Kevin De Bruyne succumbed to injury. He took a few kicks of his own, too, but in a welcome break from two years of injury hell since swapping Chelsea for Real Madrid, he always got back up.
But while the elder Hazard brother’s improved rhythm should be cause for optimism among Belgium supporters, he wasn’t the hero of this particular night.
Thorgan shattered Portugal’s ultra-cautious game plan from 25 yards with one magnificent swish of his boot late in the first half. It wasn’t right in the corner and replays didn’t cover goalkeeper Rui Patricio in glory, but when the final ball of Euro 2020 is kicked, it will take a deserved place among the leading contenders for goal of the tournament.
The brothers’ combinations were as slick as you might expect from siblings on Belgium’s left flank, and coach Roberto Martinez will need both to let their creative juices flow if the injury that forced De Bruyne off the pitch shortly after the break ends his involvement in the competition — which is why the sight of Eden leaving the field tapping the back of his leg in the 87th minute was more than a little concerning…
Belgium’s defensive old guard just about holding it together
It is to Belgium’s great credit — and to Portugal’s shame — that their creaky, post-prime north London back three only looked out of its collective depth once, when Renato Sanches broke the midfield line early in the first half and found Diogo Jota unmarked with Thomas Meunier stranded hopelessly upfield, only for the Liverpool forward to skew a shot well wide.
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Beyond that scare, Belgium nullified what little there was of Portugal’s attack for much of the night by keeping a similarly deep defensive line that enabled long-time Tottenham team-mates Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld and 35-year-old Arsenal old boy Thomas Vermaelen to clear away the vast majority of speculative high balls fired into their penalty area with relative ease.
For much of the second half, holders Portugal were reduced to taking ludicrous shots from long range, and it wasn’t until coach Fernando Santos finally threw caution to the wind with his substitutions that Belgium were forced to absorb serious pressure. All of Belgium’s centre-backs would probably have shouldered some blame if Ruben Dias’ goal-bound bullet header had flown either side of goalkeeper Courtois, while Raphael Guerreiro’s low shot against the post came from a cross that was only half-cleared.
If they want to win this competition, Belgium’s defence will surely be tested more severely than it was here but they just about passed this test.
Jota could not match his Liverpool form
Coming into the game, Portugal had scored seven goals in three group matches — not bad for such a pragmatic team. Five had been scored by Ronaldo (three of them penalties), one was a deflected Guerreiro strike and the other a Jota tap-in. But, as much as it was possible for Ronaldo to effectively carry the team through to the final, as happened at the last Euros five years ago, Portugal really needed some of their sizable and ridiculously talented supporting cast to step up.
Jota, again selected to start ahead of Joao Felix, failed to deliver. As was the case in the group games against Hungary and Germany, the Liverpool forward had a tendency to snatch at his opportunities. The first was a left-footed drag across goal from Sanches’ excellent pick-up and through-ball, the second a ballooned right-footed shot from a great position after silky build-up from Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
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He was given the hook on 70 minutes with Andre Silva, 28-goal second-top scorer in the German Bundesliga last season, brought on to add to his 16 minutes of football in the tournament so far, highlighting Portugal’s embarrassment of attacking riches.
Felix, that chap who’s only the fourth most expensive player in the history of association football, finally got his first kick of Euro 2020 when introduced in the 56th minute of Portugal’s fourth match. The 21-year-old came on for Bernardo Silva as Santos unleashed his most attacking XI of the tournament in a bid to snare an equaliser against Hungary. Within 10 minutes, he had sent two decent headers goalwards and made a darting run in behind the back line, changing the complexion of Portugal’s attack.
Silva and Felix were barely used in the tournament, Goncalo Guedes of Valencia didn’t get a kick, neither did Pedro Goncalves, who was the 23-goal top scorer in the Portuguese top flight last season.
You wonder if, with Jota having eight shots in his four games yet only scoring a simple tap-in from a Ronaldo cut-back, Santos placed too much faith in him.
What now for Portugal, the beaten champions?
The dilemma going into the tournament for Santos was whether to stick or twist. To utilise the pragmatic, organised, safety-first approach which won them the competition in 2016, or unleash a wave of ridiculously talented attackers at his disposal, with Jota, Felix, Fernandes, and the Silvas all coming onto the scene since that triumph in France.
In Santos’ mind, the build-up to the goal that decided tonight’s game in Seville will have justified him sticking with what he knows best.
Portugal were in control for most of the first half. They created the better opportunities, it was all going to plan. But in what was a cagey chess match, they committed too many of their pieces forward… and Belgium took advantage. When the ball was played over the top for Romelu Lukaku, Portugal had seven players in Belgium’s half. By the time it was worked to Thorgan Hazard they had numbers back, but not set in position… and it was Bernardo Silva’s man who found the back of the net, with the Manchester City midfielder gasping as he belatedly made an effort to close him down from behind. Too late.
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What we saw in the second half was, by Santos’ standards, carnage. Five substitutions, Andre Silva and Felix causing problems, Fernandes looking for pockets of space, Ronaldo doing everything he could to break down the Belgian defence. It was frantic, it was desperate, and the champions lost their heads — no one more than Pepe, who had a mad few minutes fighting the world. But Portugal still created a swathe of opportunities and had the Belgium defence rattled.
Going forward, Santos (if he remains in charge… he’s 67 in October but there is a World Cup in only 17 months and he’s also contracted through Euro 2024) must decide whether the safety-first approach is really the best way to make the most of Portugal’s second golden generation.
Can Belgium really go all the way?
Next up for them are Italy, who look the best-coached team in this tournament, with the most sophisticated tactical system and the best balance between defence and attack.
They might be the hungriest squad left standing, too, still fired by the humiliation of missing out on qualification for the last World Cup. But there’s no doubt Belgium have the edge in terms of individual match-winners, even if De Bruyne can’t play in Munich on Friday — despite failing to score against Portugal, Lukaku looked every bit the sharp No 9 who has dominated in Italy for the last two years.
Belgium’s individual talent can get them past Roberto Mancini’s boys but, just as at the same stage of the World Cup three years ago, potential semi-final opponents France’s overwhelming quality may well prove too much again…
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(Top photo: Thanassis Stavrakis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)