In the Portugal squad it is hard to look past Cristiano Ronaldo. He is their talisman and the one player that is shouldering the hopes of an entire nation as they look towards winning their first ever major tournament. At 31, there will be a time in the not too distant future when Portugal will have to consider life without their record goalscorer.
That moment could have come sooner than expected had Ronaldo not delivered in their thrilling 3-3 draw against Hungary in their final group match. Instead of crashing out of arguably the easiest group, Portugal scraped through as one of the four third-placed sides. For Portugal to go all the way, they would become the first side to win a major tournament having drawn all three of their group matches since Italy lifted the 1982 World Cup.
Ronaldo has given Portugal a chance, but now others must step up and support their mercurial teammate. Not since the 1986 World Cup has a player almost single-handedly taken their country to international glory as Diego Maradona did for Argentina. It’s not unimaginable to foresee Ronaldo doing just that but given doubts over his fitness and his struggles in the first two matches, it would take a meteoric effort for him to do this alone.
While Ronaldo is nearing the end of his international career there is a crop of talent on the dawn of theirs. William Carvalho was Player of the Tournament at the U21 Euro Championship last summer and was joined in the Team of the Tournament by Raphael Guerreiro and Bernardo Silva, with the latter unfortunately ruled out this summer through injury. Joao Mario is another to watch; while Renato Sanches courted most of the headlines before the Euros after making a staggering potential £63m move to Bayern Munich in May.
Andre Gomes is the next Jorge Mendes client expected to make a high-profile move over the summer and he has done his stock no damage following his performances at Euro 2016. The Valencia midfielder hasn’t even made a dozen appearances at international level but has shown flashes of his potential that suggests a promising future beckons for him in Portugal’s midfield.
The 22-year-old endured a frustrating campaign with Valencia last season but his displays at Euro 2016 wouldn’t suggest he has brought that baggage to France with him. In the 31st minute of Portugal’s group opener against Iceland it was Gomes’ vision and craft that unpicked the Iceland defence to hand Portugal their first goal of the tournament.
A neat exchange with Vieirinha on the right touchline was enough to evade the attention of three Iceland defenders before he swept the ball across the box first time for Nani to score. Gomes started on the right of a three-man midfield in their 1-1 draw against Iceland but given the license to roam and influence proceedings at his peril, fans are able to see the best of him. Gomes completed more dribbles (4) and created more chances (5) than any other player on display en route to garnering his highest WhoScored rating (8.48) since February (8.88 vs Rapid Wien). Not only that, but he completed more interceptions and tackles combined (5) than any other teammate, which suggests Gomes isn’t just a fleet-footed dribbler of the ball that can carry play forward and get involved in intricate passing moves.
Rather than continue to build on some impressive patches during their group opener, Fernando Santos has instead opted to tinker and put Gomes on the left wing of a 4-4-2 formation, which certainly restricts Gomes from maximising his best qualities.
Gomes has now made seven appearances on the wing for Valencia and Portugal in this European Championships since the start of last season and he hasn’t managed to score or register an assist from that position. He averages a WhoScored rating of 6.44 from out wide compared to 6.96 through the middle in that time, which gives further evidence of his best position. He has only created two chances since being moved out wide, but is still Portugal’s most creative player and their second highest rated player in the competition (7.26).
If there is one flaw in Gomes’ game currently, it is that the midfielder does not score enough. While capable of creating chances for his teammates, the Valencia ace only managed four goals across all competitions last season and he is still looking for his first international goal. Contributions from elsewhere could be vital for this Portugal side if they are to go deep into the competition, particularly when you consider Ronaldo has had more shots than eight other nations at Euro 2016 (30) and has just two goals from them.
This may prove a tournament too early for this current Portugal squad - or a tournament too late for Ronaldo. There is also a genuine concern that while there is an abundance of talent coming through in midfield there isn’t much to get excited about behind their aging defence and attack. However, in the likes of Gomes, Guerreiro, Sanches, Mario, Carvalho and Silva there is certainly a bright future for Portugal.
First up is a tough round of 16 clash against a much-fancied Croatia side. Should they manage to overcome Ante Cacic’s men on Saturday then a spot in the final is a very realistic proposition having already avoided the likes of Germany, Italy, Spain, France and England until then. They may have been written off before the tournament but the way the draw has panned out is cause for real optimism for this Portugal squad.
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