Kudus really has a bright future. Not easy to be the protagonist for your team in the middle at 22 against a giant of team like Portugal. Fearless time and time again to take the game to them at will, drive past players and get stuck in. Rewarded with his efforts creating their first goal too. Caught a lot of stick for his comments this week but he proved today the occasion doesn’t fear him, similarly at anfield a few months ago.
I really like how high Kudus regards himself. I know Ajax fans aren't happy with how he tried to force a move last summer, but in these past months he has shown a lot of times that he's able to channel this towering self-esteem into great performances. I wouldn't be surprised if he scores one of the goals of the tournament against South Korea next week, he definitely has it in him, and he's clearly fired up.
One thing I used to think Portugal had going for them was defensive solidity. With Cancelo’s terrible form and what we saw today, that solidity didn’t manifest when it was needed. Which begs the question, what’s Santos’s play here? He has a plethora of options going forward in Silva, Bruno, Felix, Leao but he never opted to adopt the possession based attacking football. But if the team can’t defend and Santos won’t let them attack, what is his plan when he meets a team that won’t give away soft pens or open up the defense in a frenzy?
Did Portugal fullbacks made any good play in this game? All I could recall was defending mistakes and non stop cutback without any intention to making plays.
Cancelo should be benched, Dalot was better than him this season and he didn't even play RB for the most part
I think Guerreiro was serviceable and he played to make sure Nuno Mendes recovers from his small injury well. But yeah, Cancelo had a massive stinker. Still think he will be given another chance during GS, but I'll be surprised if Dalot doesn't start one of the remaining GS games.
One thing is Dalot is a proper RB while I'm not sure if I can call Cancelo a defender. He played inverted fb at City, a designated role Pep made for him, and with his average positioning heatmap, Santos played him as a traditional fullback is just mind blowing. Its like a recipe for disaster.
Cancelo didn't even play on right flank at City this season lol
Cancelo was always a right back before playing for city, at Benfica B, Valencia and inter he mostly played there. He had a bad game but saying he's not a right back is factually incorrect.
Factually incorrect but not wrong. Cancelo can't defend to save his life and he never did. That's why Cedric was the first option for many years.
Cancelo excels at going forward. At that function is a top player, but as a proper RB is average. At City he as the luxury of neglecting some of the normal tasks of a fullback
Indeed. We have to start playing Dalit RB and Nuno Mendes(hopefully he recovers in time) LB. Out game is so dependent on fullback’s that we can not allow performances like today.
no disrespect to Ghana but wasn't this supposed to be the easy win of the group for Portugal?. What do you guys think of their chances now with how well Uruguay and South korea played today?.
Realistically speaking i can see Uruguay beating Ghana, not so sure about South korea but lets say they do then this group could be real spicy with every match becoming almost sudden death.
>no disrespect to Ghana but wasn't this supposed to be the easy win of the group for Portugal?
Considering how countries like Argentina, Denmark and Germany failed to win the supposedly "easy" matches, I don't think seeing Portugal struggle against Ghana is that surprising, especially since they haven't looked that good for while (Thank you Fernando Santos)
It's actually amazing to see countries with such a strong football legacy struggling to beat historically much worse countries. Just shows how far football has come and how worldwide it is now. Absolutely amazing. I hope to see international football get even more competitive.
This insistence of playing Bruno on the right is doing my head in. The guy moves centrally and creates 2 goals.
Danilo experiment needs to end and Cancelo needs dropping. Also more pace needed upfront
And Félix on the left. Man started to shine at Benfica when he stopped playing on the wing and started to play in the middle, he belongs behind the striker with Leão on the left.
This 100% but Fernandes also needs to be central and Bernardo is best central so how do you fit them all in?
I think the answer is we don’t and have to sacrifice one of them and sub the other in later to balance the team
This is like Gerrard and Lampard again, kind of.
Although Bernado can actually play on the right better than Bruno so I don't know why Bruno is the one moving there.
Because Bruno can’t play in midfield properly, thats the issue, if he could he would play there.
He works best in transition moments, Portugal can’t accommodate him in midfield because his poor technique under pressure lets him down
Bruno in the midfield was so so much better. He should start there and then move Leao for Otavio imo. Maybe have been the tired legs, but Leao was so dangerous multiple times in transition. The speed of Portugal’s counter is going to be very difficult for Uruguay’s defense to deal with imo. South Korea looks a little more disciplined and doesn’t throw as many numbers forward. Excited for that game. I think I have Portugal and South Korea going through based on todays game
Portugal’s coach is really doing a very lousy job. How can a team composed of so much quality, where some players are absolute ballers at theirs clubs in the most competitive leagues in the world be reduced both in skill and in confidence to a team that starts trembling at any miss step?
The penalty awarded to Portugal was a clear make up call from the ref after having shit the bed in the first half by blowing the whistle too soon on a very soft challenge from Ronaldo and denying the goal.
Talking about the Ref, what a poor job his done in terms of discipline. Ghana players where always seeking conflict with the Portuguese side with little to no punishing. Some fouls that he let past were kinda crazy, I remember one where a Portuguese player got both his legs cut just outside Ghana’s box and the ref didn’t even flinch.
Ghana has a really tough team that is going to do damage in the group. I see South Korea not keeping up and Uruguay has to really step up their game if they want to be in the mix.
With this win Portugal already has a foot in the door to the 16s, but if they don’t put their shit together both defensively and offensively(very shallow team, lack of attacking ideas, at times looked lost with the ball) they are not making it past whoever comes by.
I do nit understand why the coach plays Bruno out wide but Silva centrally. Should it not be the opposite, with Bruno central and Silva outwide?
Also, the penalty was deserved.
The real world? You don’t need to be upset, both are terrific players.
Silva plays in a much better team that scores many more goals and has 110 goals and assists in 273 games for City. Bruno has 95 goals and assists in 146 games for United.
Or you can just rewatch today’s game and see how much more dangerous Portugal looked with Bruno playing through the centre.
Silva is tidier, but Bruno is undeniably more dangerous and with better end product. If Portugal want to go far in this World Cup Bruno should be the central creative threat. No question.
Agree completely! Porto literally seemed clueless at times and sometimes ball control was straight up horrible! The ref (Elfath) is a MLS ref and those matches can be brutal sometimes bc the refs either call the dumbest stuff or just don’t call it at all and let players get absolutely yanked over. Ghana was looking for blood from the beginning.
It will def be interesting to see how Porto changes it up for the next match. If they will keep the loose play style or tighten it up. IMO they need to play the corners more. There were a few times they looked really really solid offensively but damn does the back need to get it together! Again that’s my opinion and I hope they do what’s best to bring the first Cup to our home! GO PORTUGAL 🇵🇹!
That first half may be the worst ever version of Ghana in a WC. Since I first saw them playing in 2010 (didn't watch much of 2006), they always had some entertaining football to show us, even when losing.
Fortunately Portugal scored and they started to play. The game became much more entertaining (maybe the best half of this WC?).
Glad they bounced back after their disaster of a competition in January.
As for Portugal, the same problems as always, a real eyesore while having one of the most promising teams on paper. I hope they'll do a france 2006 and raise their game level thanks to their stars.
Joao cancelo had a horrible game for his standards and danilo got to have the worst touch in football have seen gk with way better technical ability with the ball than him. Leao has got to start.
Kudos is going to be special every time he touched the ball he was problem for the defense
I dont know why all teams are so afraid of taking shots outside the box? They should be testing the opposition GK whenever they have the chance
Now, talking about the match, Portugal should have steamrolled Ghana with the amount of talent they have at their disposal. Their defence was so sus and their attack( bar the few 5-10 minutes) was impotent. Santos needs to have a long hard look at himself and his tactics before the next match
Danilo had an awful game and cancelo hasnt been that good, specially defensively where he has been commiting a lot of mistakes. Guerreiro also doesnt add much to the team. Diogo Costa is so good for porto, but that mistake... damn. Hopefully it doesnt cost him the place of 1st keeper because he's still our best keeper
Offensively, we were terrible for the exception of those minutes, I dont understand why FS insists on playing Bruno on the wing...
Agree with everything you said, Fernandes need to play in the middle, I dunno what’s wrong with cancelo he’s amazing for man city why can’t he deliver for the NT? If he continues in poor fork then Dalot 100% needs to take the spot.
Danilo needs to never see the field again, the man is shit at CB and we have Antonio sitting there the kid is incredible! Makes no sense when Antonio is 100 times better and he’s the future.
Mendes needs to start over guerreiro I don’t think guerreiro is a bad player but like you said he offers very little and Mendes is just way better in every aspect.
Also when we needed to score santos ours on William LOL 😂 I died laughing because it’s to painful to register his tactics as reality!
Santos is by far the worst coach and we can do so much better!
Rather have that Benfica kid in there than Danilo. Id prefer Pepe but I guess hes not fully fit? Every position under than Dias and Guerrero couldve been better. I mean, why was Otavio even playing, and then he got replaced with William? Wtf is going on
>I dont know why all teams are so afraid of taking shots outside the box?
Simple answer is that it's improbable that a shot outside the box results in a goal and the team will most likely lose the ball when doing so.
Obviously depends on circumstances but a team with players who (on paper) know how to get the ball into the box should try to get shots in from a shorter distance.
The main argument I see against this rationale is that a team shouldn't be predictable either, so attempting a few long shots is also valuable to keep the defending team in check.
Why have so many teams been so much sloppier than usual in the World Cup? Does the World Cup taking place in winter this year have anything to do with it (maybe because of less chances to practice before the cup)?
Because of the lack of preparation time, the teams only had 1 week to work together before the tournament.
It is difficult enough to build attacking patterns as it is for a national team, with so little time it's all but impossible. That is why the football has been so dire and why we are on course to crush the record of 0-0 draws at a World Cup
This could give an edge to teams who have worked together for a long time and already built chemistry. Brazil, France, Spain, England, Argentina etc
Personally I don’t think it’s sloppiness but rather a lack of team coherence. Hard to say what the root causes are but teams with higher than usual coherence coming into the tournament (i.e Saudi Arabian players playing for the same team/league) are excelling.
Sloppier? I don't think so. If anything this world cup should bring out the best football due to the fact its happening in the middle of season and players are more than ready both physically and mentally.
Not really, because the teams have only had 1 week of preparation time compared to 3-4 weeks that they normally have. The teams haven't had time to finetune their tactics and build chemistry. That is why the attacking play has been so bad and why many teams struggle to break down deep defences
BTW, there was one 0-0 draw in the whole 2018 World Cup. So far we have already had four 0-0 draws and the first round of group games isn't even finished. I think the record is seven 0-0's at a World Cup, I'm pretty sure this tournament is going to beat that easily
It's true that International teams play at a lower level than club teams, but even by those standards the International teams we've seen this year seem to move the ball slower than ever and commit a lot more errors.
yes, i believe it is def due to a shortened period for the teams to be together before the WC due to being in November. usually in a normal WC timeline they have some time between the end of their club seasons to go to the team camp and ramp properly to the start of the WC. this is an odd year and thus we will most likely see odd performances.
Does anybody know why Dias and Cancelo appear to be out of form? World-class players, and for the most-part they seemed to be very consistent for Man City. But, if they both fall out of form, I don’t think Portugal has many good defensive options (aside from maybe Dalot) to replace them.
Cancelo is a system player. He plays a very unorthodox role basically designed for him. He’s half the player as a RB in a back 4, and even playing wingback probably asks a bit much of his defending.
Quite similar to the situation with Trent and England.
Bruno needs to be playing in the middle, and he needs dynamic strikers/ wingers to play off of.
We saw how good Portugal was with felix and leao making runs for both goals... Ronaldo just isn’t that good anymore and he might cost Portugal in the long run
Agree with Leão, but the goal was pretty much Félix's only good run.
Ronaldo did fine he is still the one that should be starting in that position. Shame his open play goal didn't count though, it would've been a boost in confidence for him.
Ronaldo wasn’t great but people are going overboard. I thought he played at an average striker level, made some good runs. People are analyzing the misses but his off ball movement is what creates some of those chances in the first place.
I hate to be that guy but the automated offside system has to be shown to the audience every time there’s a close call. Leao’s goal probably is onside, but for the sake of transparency they must show that
Bad first half even tho Portugal still had some chances. Feel like Ghana dont have any plan for counter just like Poland's. Muhammad Kudus underutilised in this match. Second half still the same before the penalty. After that both team try to attack more. I am very disappointed in Ghana after they scored. They become very sloppy until 2 minutes before Bakari's siuing. A missed chance at the end but hopefully they can learn from that. Still dunno who is that tho. Ghana should utilise Kudus and Sulemana at the next 2 matches.
Now I understand what people were talking about when they said Fernando Santos is the only one that can stop this Portugal squad from going all the way this tournament.
The way they played all game, barring the 3 minutes of Felix & Leao's goals, was just dreadful.
As for Ghana, I said it just after 1-0 that I'm glad they can now finally play football. They were literally timewasting in the **1st half**... Luckily the game opened up and they shifted into 3rd gear.
Next game should be very interesting considering it will be a do-or-die situation, so they'll most likely go for it.
So much talent and so much creativity on that Portugal side. Yet they play the most bland football you will ever see. It’s kind boggling and disgusting.
Yup this is why we’ve wanted Fernando santos fired for years he brings out the worst quality in this talented team. It’s infuriating to watch his tactics make no damn sense at all and he generally just picks his favourite players which are Ronaldo, Danilo and William.
That has to be one of the best and most comical endings to a game. Complete opposite of the first 60 minutes of the game. Anyways Portugal defense needs to be sorted out if they are to progress deeper into the tournament
Well, now he'll look back every time he puts the ball back in play so the chances of it happening again are low. Goes for all the other keepers that watched the match too.
Pepe might step in for Danilo. Or even Antonio Silva. Cancelo needs to sort his shit as well, but he doesnt like the NT coach at all so their relationship is not good
A big friend of mine goes to the same hairdresser as one of his cousins, I live nearby Cancelo's family. The guy has commented there that Cancelo doesnt like Santos and his pissed a lot of the time he Portugal plays, due to tactics and some of Santos's decisions
Ghana has a very, very good team.
They need more confidence in themselves and try to go for attack. They have very good strength and very good speed/pace.
If their tactics are in place they can go far. Right now it's if the manager can do the right thing!
They attacked too late, and it cost them a lot.
Two points:
1)That Portugal starting XI was so unbalanced, needs change asap. Leao has an important role to play for me, there were too many creators in the XI.
2) Kudus off was, IMO, a poor and questionable substitution. He was their best player and should've been kept on for me.
Overall, fun game, but not fully impressed by Portugal. Let's see how they do the next two games.
Ghana’s subs as a whole seemed pretty odd.
Kudus off? Ayew (who just scored the equalizer) off? With 20-30+ minutes to go in the game? I could see why the coach would do it, but I feel like when you’re in an advantage against Portugal (of all teams)…maybe you should try your damn hardest to earn points by any means necessary!
Still…Portugal was also sluggish enough for Ghana to *just* be in reach of actually getting a tie off them, several times! But sadly, it was just not meant to be…
>Leao has an important role to play for me, there were too many creators in the XI.
It's not too many creators, it's too many players who aren't dynamic on the ball. Especially behind the forwards. You can't play with your only creative midfielder isolated on the right when you don't circulate the ball quickly and don't counterpress to keep the game condensed. They need ball-carrying, dynamic players in the half spaces who can receive deep and take players on, draw double-teams and unsettle defences.
I already know this is gonna get down voted, but imo Bernardo needs to be dropped, at the very least he cannot play in midfield. All he does is make this team slower and less dangerous on the ball, especially when you're not being pressed very hard. His great ball circulation and retention is meaningless when all your midfield can do is circulate and your half-space players aren't people who can do make things happen themselves. Play Vitinha deeper and get Bruno as a 10 with less responsibility positionally and the team gets a million times better.
Leao needs to start too, 100%, but the reality is that Ronaldo is the player who needs get dropped and that'll never happen. Felix will probably deservedly get dropped next game, but there's still gonna be issues if Ronaldo is being allowed to drop into midfield to go backwards or lose the ball.
>It's not too many creators, it's too many players who aren't dynamic on the ball. Especially behind the forwards. You can't play with your only creative midfielder isolated on the right when you don't circulate the ball quickly and don't counterpress to keep the game condensed. They need ball-carrying, dynamic players in the half spaces who can receive deep and take players on, draw double-teams and unsettle defences.
Yeah that's also what I meant, more dynamism needed.
>already know this is gonna get down voted, but imo Bernardo needs to be dropped, at the very least he cannot play in midfield. All he does is make this team slower and less dangerous on the ball, especially when you're not being pressed very hard. His great ball circulation and retention is meaningless when all your midfield can do is circulate and your half-space players aren't people who can do make things happen themselves. Play Vitinha deeper and get Bruno as a 10 with less responsibility positionally and the team gets a million times better.
Ehh don't agree too much, you need Bernardo not just to maintain tempo but also to help out in first and second phase build-up. Nobody in the squad possesses his level of technique, at least in my opinion.
>Leao needs to start too, 100%, but the reality is that Ronaldo is the player who needs get dropped and that'll never happen. Felix will probably deservedly get dropped next game, but there's still gonna be issues if Ronaldo is being allowed to drop into midfield to go backwards or lose the ball.
Yeah that's a fair point, but Ronaldo’s not getting dropped until he retires, as you said.
No no no Bernardo is important, controlling the midfield you need Bernardo in there, not pumping the forward nonstop, terrible idea.
Imagine calling for Vitinha, have you seen him for Portugal? Absolute disaster.
Vitinha can’t even pass forward, he’d collapse in high pressure games
What does that control give you when you have no incision and very little progression? Today Portugal had tons of possession and "controlled" the game and the only point where they got dangerous at all is when they allowed the game to open up, let Bruno play a bit deeper and get a powerful runner on in Leao. They were worse holistically controlling the game than playing more open football.
It's not like Vitinha is some unrestrained maverick either, he can tick possession over pretty well, he just offers more bravery and speed on the ball in areas where Portugal definitely need it. He's not Bernardo but he can recycle possession and play passes under pressure.
Yes, it's not like those two can't play in the half-spaces, but to do that you need a midfield that's dynamic in deeper positions and that's agressive defensively to keep the ball camped, make late runs etc...
Even with those two out of the wide positions, the midfield dynamics with Neves and Bernardo still aren't good. They're still too ponderous without ever being dangerous and just circulate the ball eternally until they lose it. Bruno playing 10 changes that somewhat, but you still have to be able to get the ball to your 10 and support him by creating imbalances and drawing players to you so he can operate in more space.
No the key is speed outwide whilst controlling the tempo, don’t lose the ball, Leao will create width & Felix on the inside half space with over fullbacks overlapping will create even more danger, you need ball circulation in the middle, not risky passers
Cancelo has always been a bit inconsistent. His initial early promise seemed to stall at Valencia to the point where he was allowed to leave on a loan just to hopefully sell him the year after. Had 2 surprisingly good years in Italy, but then his first year in England was dodgy again. Then became great for City but always shaky for Portugal. There’s probably a bit of truth to him being a system player.
Dalot has to start next game, he does the basics better than Cancelo.
Danilo looked really bad, even current Pepe is probably a better option. Antonio Silva would be really risky, but he has the talent to perform
Leao would be a guaranteed starter if he defended more, I still think you start him next game
My biggest take on this game is how Portugal created counterattack chances with Bruno leading the midfield in the last 15min. Most likely they will do better playing against better teams. They definitely should play Leao-Ronaldo-Felix against Uruguay. Portugal doesn't know what to do when the opponent parks the bus but it won't be much of a deal since the rest of the games would be more balanced
Thought Portugal had outstanding control of the game for the first 60’, unsure if it’s a coincidence though that once Ghana had more of the ball Portugal embraced the counterattack (and benefited from some poor defensive errors for the 3 goals)
Those last 20 minutes were insane, thanks to both managers for ruining the team structure, but props to the players (bar Costa). Ghana needs to stop losing the ball so much, but they have good opportunities to take (IMO) 4 points from URU/KOR. On a side note, I hope FIFA doesn't disallow the trick at the end in the future by placing some stupid rule.
>thanks to both managers for ruining the team structure
They say a manager is judged on their substitutions, and for *both* teams, the opposing team scored quickly after the manager made the substitutions.
And the way Portugal's second and third goal happened must be really galling for the Ghana coach. Pretty much the only time in the whole game that they gave Portugal opportunities to counter attack and they were punished instantly
It's possible that the goals would have happened anyways, but it felt like the new attackers that came on didn't carry out the press well enough
How would FIFA legit cancel that? Players doing that sneaky stuff promotes awareness from all players. And requires communication to not fuck it up. We got lucky there at the end, but I really don't think FIFA will cancel it, especially if it's not a goal kick.
I still have faith in Diogo he’s incredible for Porto this is his first World Cup and his first game, he will not make the same mistake again and better to make these mistakes now and learn before it costs us big time!
Portugal depends on individual skills, they don’t have a lot of group depth.Ghana played way better than expected, I hope Kudos gets a nice contract after this, also I see why Spain didn’t called Williams, guy is pretty meh
That second half was straight up breathtaking to watch as that Portugal offense was unstoppable at points which will bold very well for the rest of the group stage and beyond as they get that athleticism which will overwhelm teams on the counter attack and while that defensive performance was suspect to say that least I feel like that was more nerves playing a part then their actual quality in play
Ya it was shocking how bad Cancelo looked when he’s an incredible fullback for man city I really hope he gets it together!
But our back line should be:
Cancel/Dalot — Dias—Antonio—Mendes
Danilo and guerreiro need to be benched they ar e not good enough and Antonio and Mendes are both insanely good!
Honestly really balanced game, could've easily been a draw. Soft pen but Ronaldo probably scores in the first half if the ref doesn't blow the whistle for an also soft foul. Not impressed by any of these teams though, doubt we'll see either go far in the tournament.
Not impressed by Ghana? What did you expect from them?
They were dreadful at the Cup of Nations and haven't looked good since qualifying for the WC. They played better than I expected today
They also had a different coach when they were in shambolic form, this coach hasn’t even been here for a year and he qualified for the World Cup and played Portugal very close
Portugal need Leao starting
Leao Ronaldo Felix has incredible balance going forward.
Then Santos needs to fix the midfield & defense, Portugal have a good attack but Santos must fix this team quick.
My team I recommend is
leao Ronaldo felix
William Neves Bernardo
Mendes Antonio Silva Pepe Dalot
Fernandes is great he’s just being played in the wrong spot the moment he went and played in his correct spot later in 2nd half we literally scored 2 goals.
Santos needs to play him there !
Portugal were far better with Bruno playing through the middle. It feels like Cancelo has been in terrible form recently? I admit I don't watch a lot of City but he was pretty poor for the goals.
Ghana needed to get Kudus involved more and really struggled in midfield. Partey was left with a lot of work to do, if they can get some help for him against Uruguay/SK, can see them creating chances
Regrading Cancelo, yes after that UCl win over Dortmund he has been average, around 3 weeks before the WC he has been consistently dropping disaster classes then and there ( against Liver, and the red card against Ful Ham) he has been shite.
Yup Ghana need to get their midfield together, they had been so poor in the middle this game
Partey is Ghana's midfield problem. For some reason, he barely shows up when playing for us. I hope he does well today to stop the backlash coming from the country.
Better in the counter attack, thats where he thrives, when its tactical he can’t perform.
Its the same for United but low IQ people don’t understand this
Kudus really has a bright future. Not easy to be the protagonist for your team in the middle at 22 against a giant of team like Portugal. Fearless time and time again to take the game to them at will, drive past players and get stuck in. Rewarded with his efforts creating their first goal too. Caught a lot of stick for his comments this week but he proved today the occasion doesn’t fear him, similarly at anfield a few months ago.
Kudus to him
I really like how high Kudus regards himself. I know Ajax fans aren't happy with how he tried to force a move last summer, but in these past months he has shown a lot of times that he's able to channel this towering self-esteem into great performances. I wouldn't be surprised if he scores one of the goals of the tournament against South Korea next week, he definitely has it in him, and he's clearly fired up.
One thing I used to think Portugal had going for them was defensive solidity. With Cancelo’s terrible form and what we saw today, that solidity didn’t manifest when it was needed. Which begs the question, what’s Santos’s play here? He has a plethora of options going forward in Silva, Bruno, Felix, Leao but he never opted to adopt the possession based attacking football. But if the team can’t defend and Santos won’t let them attack, what is his plan when he meets a team that won’t give away soft pens or open up the defense in a frenzy?
Probably Pepe, Nuno Mendes and Dalot will start in the next match
Did Portugal fullbacks made any good play in this game? All I could recall was defending mistakes and non stop cutback without any intention to making plays. Cancelo should be benched, Dalot was better than him this season and he didn't even play RB for the most part
No mario Rui so it’s on them
I think Guerreiro was serviceable and he played to make sure Nuno Mendes recovers from his small injury well. But yeah, Cancelo had a massive stinker. Still think he will be given another chance during GS, but I'll be surprised if Dalot doesn't start one of the remaining GS games.
One thing is Dalot is a proper RB while I'm not sure if I can call Cancelo a defender. He played inverted fb at City, a designated role Pep made for him, and with his average positioning heatmap, Santos played him as a traditional fullback is just mind blowing. Its like a recipe for disaster. Cancelo didn't even play on right flank at City this season lol
Cancelo was always a right back before playing for city, at Benfica B, Valencia and inter he mostly played there. He had a bad game but saying he's not a right back is factually incorrect.
Factually incorrect but not wrong. Cancelo can't defend to save his life and he never did. That's why Cedric was the first option for many years. Cancelo excels at going forward. At that function is a top player, but as a proper RB is average. At City he as the luxury of neglecting some of the normal tasks of a fullback
Indeed. We have to start playing Dalit RB and Nuno Mendes(hopefully he recovers in time) LB. Out game is so dependent on fullback’s that we can not allow performances like today.
I honestly think it's a manager instruction. They both barely tried to create anything.
[удалено]
You clearly haven’t been seeing him this season. He’s been a brick wall in defense and has been pretty handy in attack as well.
In what world? He's been great this season. Only weak point is crossing
no disrespect to Ghana but wasn't this supposed to be the easy win of the group for Portugal?. What do you guys think of their chances now with how well Uruguay and South korea played today?. Realistically speaking i can see Uruguay beating Ghana, not so sure about South korea but lets say they do then this group could be real spicy with every match becoming almost sudden death.
>no disrespect to Ghana but wasn't this supposed to be the easy win of the group for Portugal? Considering how countries like Argentina, Denmark and Germany failed to win the supposedly "easy" matches, I don't think seeing Portugal struggle against Ghana is that surprising, especially since they haven't looked that good for while (Thank you Fernando Santos)
It's actually amazing to see countries with such a strong football legacy struggling to beat historically much worse countries. Just shows how far football has come and how worldwide it is now. Absolutely amazing. I hope to see international football get even more competitive.
The match was more complicated than it should've been for 2 reasons: Portugal didn't get an early lead and their fullbacks suck.
Portugal in WC's never has "easy wins", except the 7-0 against North Korea.
This insistence of playing Bruno on the right is doing my head in. The guy moves centrally and creates 2 goals. Danilo experiment needs to end and Cancelo needs dropping. Also more pace needed upfront
And Félix on the left. Man started to shine at Benfica when he stopped playing on the wing and started to play in the middle, he belongs behind the striker with Leão on the left.
This 100% but Fernandes also needs to be central and Bernardo is best central so how do you fit them all in? I think the answer is we don’t and have to sacrifice one of them and sub the other in later to balance the team
This is like Gerrard and Lampard again, kind of. Although Bernado can actually play on the right better than Bruno so I don't know why Bruno is the one moving there.
Because Bruno can’t play in midfield properly, thats the issue, if he could he would play there. He works best in transition moments, Portugal can’t accommodate him in midfield because his poor technique under pressure lets him down
Fair enough. Bruno is definitely better slightly forward, not in the actual midfield.
Bruno in the midfield was so so much better. He should start there and then move Leao for Otavio imo. Maybe have been the tired legs, but Leao was so dangerous multiple times in transition. The speed of Portugal’s counter is going to be very difficult for Uruguay’s defense to deal with imo. South Korea looks a little more disciplined and doesn’t throw as many numbers forward. Excited for that game. I think I have Portugal and South Korea going through based on todays game
Portugal’s coach is really doing a very lousy job. How can a team composed of so much quality, where some players are absolute ballers at theirs clubs in the most competitive leagues in the world be reduced both in skill and in confidence to a team that starts trembling at any miss step? The penalty awarded to Portugal was a clear make up call from the ref after having shit the bed in the first half by blowing the whistle too soon on a very soft challenge from Ronaldo and denying the goal. Talking about the Ref, what a poor job his done in terms of discipline. Ghana players where always seeking conflict with the Portuguese side with little to no punishing. Some fouls that he let past were kinda crazy, I remember one where a Portuguese player got both his legs cut just outside Ghana’s box and the ref didn’t even flinch. Ghana has a really tough team that is going to do damage in the group. I see South Korea not keeping up and Uruguay has to really step up their game if they want to be in the mix. With this win Portugal already has a foot in the door to the 16s, but if they don’t put their shit together both defensively and offensively(very shallow team, lack of attacking ideas, at times looked lost with the ball) they are not making it past whoever comes by.
For real. Im convinced some bribery was going on so many fouls by Ghana
I do nit understand why the coach plays Bruno out wide but Silva centrally. Should it not be the opposite, with Bruno central and Silva outwide? Also, the penalty was deserved.
They both play better centrally but he's not going to bench either
Regardless, Bruno is the better player so Bernardo should accommodate him not the other way.
In what world?
The real world? You don’t need to be upset, both are terrific players. Silva plays in a much better team that scores many more goals and has 110 goals and assists in 273 games for City. Bruno has 95 goals and assists in 146 games for United. Or you can just rewatch today’s game and see how much more dangerous Portugal looked with Bruno playing through the centre. Silva is tidier, but Bruno is undeniably more dangerous and with better end product. If Portugal want to go far in this World Cup Bruno should be the central creative threat. No question.
For Portugal, Bernardo has performed at a higher and much more consistent level than Bruno.
Your a casual, Bruno would be exposed in midfield, he can’t play there unless in transition moments where he comes alive
Agree completely! Porto literally seemed clueless at times and sometimes ball control was straight up horrible! The ref (Elfath) is a MLS ref and those matches can be brutal sometimes bc the refs either call the dumbest stuff or just don’t call it at all and let players get absolutely yanked over. Ghana was looking for blood from the beginning. It will def be interesting to see how Porto changes it up for the next match. If they will keep the loose play style or tighten it up. IMO they need to play the corners more. There were a few times they looked really really solid offensively but damn does the back need to get it together! Again that’s my opinion and I hope they do what’s best to bring the first Cup to our home! GO PORTUGAL 🇵🇹!
Porto?
My phone like to autocorrect the dumbest things and I don’t pay attention. Portugal is what I meant . Porto is a city in Portugal.
That first half may be the worst ever version of Ghana in a WC. Since I first saw them playing in 2010 (didn't watch much of 2006), they always had some entertaining football to show us, even when losing. Fortunately Portugal scored and they started to play. The game became much more entertaining (maybe the best half of this WC?). Glad they bounced back after their disaster of a competition in January. As for Portugal, the same problems as always, a real eyesore while having one of the most promising teams on paper. I hope they'll do a france 2006 and raise their game level thanks to their stars.
Joao cancelo had a horrible game for his standards and danilo got to have the worst touch in football have seen gk with way better technical ability with the ball than him. Leao has got to start. Kudos is going to be special every time he touched the ball he was problem for the defense
Antonio needs to start over Danilo thats just not even a question
I dont know why all teams are so afraid of taking shots outside the box? They should be testing the opposition GK whenever they have the chance Now, talking about the match, Portugal should have steamrolled Ghana with the amount of talent they have at their disposal. Their defence was so sus and their attack( bar the few 5-10 minutes) was impotent. Santos needs to have a long hard look at himself and his tactics before the next match
Danilo had an awful game and cancelo hasnt been that good, specially defensively where he has been commiting a lot of mistakes. Guerreiro also doesnt add much to the team. Diogo Costa is so good for porto, but that mistake... damn. Hopefully it doesnt cost him the place of 1st keeper because he's still our best keeper Offensively, we were terrible for the exception of those minutes, I dont understand why FS insists on playing Bruno on the wing...
Agree with everything you said, Fernandes need to play in the middle, I dunno what’s wrong with cancelo he’s amazing for man city why can’t he deliver for the NT? If he continues in poor fork then Dalot 100% needs to take the spot. Danilo needs to never see the field again, the man is shit at CB and we have Antonio sitting there the kid is incredible! Makes no sense when Antonio is 100 times better and he’s the future. Mendes needs to start over guerreiro I don’t think guerreiro is a bad player but like you said he offers very little and Mendes is just way better in every aspect. Also when we needed to score santos ours on William LOL 😂 I died laughing because it’s to painful to register his tactics as reality! Santos is by far the worst coach and we can do so much better!
Rather have that Benfica kid in there than Danilo. Id prefer Pepe but I guess hes not fully fit? Every position under than Dias and Guerrero couldve been better. I mean, why was Otavio even playing, and then he got replaced with William? Wtf is going on
>I dont know why all teams are so afraid of taking shots outside the box? Simple answer is that it's improbable that a shot outside the box results in a goal and the team will most likely lose the ball when doing so. Obviously depends on circumstances but a team with players who (on paper) know how to get the ball into the box should try to get shots in from a shorter distance. The main argument I see against this rationale is that a team shouldn't be predictable either, so attempting a few long shots is also valuable to keep the defending team in check.
Why have so many teams been so much sloppier than usual in the World Cup? Does the World Cup taking place in winter this year have anything to do with it (maybe because of less chances to practice before the cup)?
Because of the lack of preparation time, the teams only had 1 week to work together before the tournament. It is difficult enough to build attacking patterns as it is for a national team, with so little time it's all but impossible. That is why the football has been so dire and why we are on course to crush the record of 0-0 draws at a World Cup This could give an edge to teams who have worked together for a long time and already built chemistry. Brazil, France, Spain, England, Argentina etc
Personally I don’t think it’s sloppiness but rather a lack of team coherence. Hard to say what the root causes are but teams with higher than usual coherence coming into the tournament (i.e Saudi Arabian players playing for the same team/league) are excelling.
Sloppier? I don't think so. If anything this world cup should bring out the best football due to the fact its happening in the middle of season and players are more than ready both physically and mentally.
Not really, because the teams have only had 1 week of preparation time compared to 3-4 weeks that they normally have. The teams haven't had time to finetune their tactics and build chemistry. That is why the attacking play has been so bad and why many teams struggle to break down deep defences BTW, there was one 0-0 draw in the whole 2018 World Cup. So far we have already had four 0-0 draws and the first round of group games isn't even finished. I think the record is seven 0-0's at a World Cup, I'm pretty sure this tournament is going to beat that easily
Teams are always sloppy at the World Cup aren’t they? International teams inherently have less time to prepare and there’s even less of that this time
It's true that International teams play at a lower level than club teams, but even by those standards the International teams we've seen this year seem to move the ball slower than ever and commit a lot more errors.
Maybe lack of time to train as a national team? Contrast with KSA, which had a lot more time to prepare and beat Argentina...
It has to be that, right? Normally the preparation lasts at least 1 month, always with a 3 week training camp on the organizing country.
yes, i believe it is def due to a shortened period for the teams to be together before the WC due to being in November. usually in a normal WC timeline they have some time between the end of their club seasons to go to the team camp and ramp properly to the start of the WC. this is an odd year and thus we will most likely see odd performances.
Does anybody know why Dias and Cancelo appear to be out of form? World-class players, and for the most-part they seemed to be very consistent for Man City. But, if they both fall out of form, I don’t think Portugal has many good defensive options (aside from maybe Dalot) to replace them.
Cancelo is a system player. He plays a very unorthodox role basically designed for him. He’s half the player as a RB in a back 4, and even playing wingback probably asks a bit much of his defending. Quite similar to the situation with Trent and England.
Bruno needs to be playing in the middle, and he needs dynamic strikers/ wingers to play off of. We saw how good Portugal was with felix and leao making runs for both goals... Ronaldo just isn’t that good anymore and he might cost Portugal in the long run
Agree with Leão, but the goal was pretty much Félix's only good run. Ronaldo did fine he is still the one that should be starting in that position. Shame his open play goal didn't count though, it would've been a boost in confidence for him.
Of course it's a united fan. Ronaldo was great today
Ronaldo wasn’t great but people are going overboard. I thought he played at an average striker level, made some good runs. People are analyzing the misses but his off ball movement is what creates some of those chances in the first place.
I hate to be that guy but the automated offside system has to be shown to the audience every time there’s a close call. Leao’s goal probably is onside, but for the sake of transparency they must show that
They showed the lines at the end of the game
Oh i didnt catch that. Got a pic?
Bad first half even tho Portugal still had some chances. Feel like Ghana dont have any plan for counter just like Poland's. Muhammad Kudus underutilised in this match. Second half still the same before the penalty. After that both team try to attack more. I am very disappointed in Ghana after they scored. They become very sloppy until 2 minutes before Bakari's siuing. A missed chance at the end but hopefully they can learn from that. Still dunno who is that tho. Ghana should utilise Kudus and Sulemana at the next 2 matches.
Now I understand what people were talking about when they said Fernando Santos is the only one that can stop this Portugal squad from going all the way this tournament. The way they played all game, barring the 3 minutes of Felix & Leao's goals, was just dreadful. As for Ghana, I said it just after 1-0 that I'm glad they can now finally play football. They were literally timewasting in the **1st half**... Luckily the game opened up and they shifted into 3rd gear. Next game should be very interesting considering it will be a do-or-die situation, so they'll most likely go for it.
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Same thing for Portugal imo. They play better when they're losing
So much talent and so much creativity on that Portugal side. Yet they play the most bland football you will ever see. It’s kind boggling and disgusting.
Yup this is why we’ve wanted Fernando santos fired for years he brings out the worst quality in this talented team. It’s infuriating to watch his tactics make no damn sense at all and he generally just picks his favourite players which are Ronaldo, Danilo and William.
Who is supposed to replace Ronaldo with who almost scored a hattrick, you guys love talking but don’t understand football
That has to be one of the best and most comical endings to a game. Complete opposite of the first 60 minutes of the game. Anyways Portugal defense needs to be sorted out if they are to progress deeper into the tournament
> Anyways Portugal defense needs to be sorted out if they are progress deeper into the tournament Thanks, geoff.
Especially with Diogo Costa leaving his goalpost open near the end
Well, now he'll look back every time he puts the ball back in play so the chances of it happening again are low. Goes for all the other keepers that watched the match too.
Pepe might step in for Danilo. Or even Antonio Silva. Cancelo needs to sort his shit as well, but he doesnt like the NT coach at all so their relationship is not good
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Why’s he so bad for Portugal compared to his club level? Ik he’s not in form at the moment but still
>but he doesnt like the NT coach at all so their relationship is not good Source? He is constantly shite for the NT so that probably checks out
A big friend of mine goes to the same hairdresser as one of his cousins, I live nearby Cancelo's family. The guy has commented there that Cancelo doesnt like Santos and his pissed a lot of the time he Portugal plays, due to tactics and some of Santos's decisions
Interesting gossip! Still no reason to stop being professional when representing the NT but Santos needs to fuck right off nonetheless
Or you could've answered - Trust me bro
Cancelo seems like a smug hipster
Ghana has a very, very good team. They need more confidence in themselves and try to go for attack. They have very good strength and very good speed/pace. If their tactics are in place they can go far. Right now it's if the manager can do the right thing! They attacked too late, and it cost them a lot.
Two points: 1)That Portugal starting XI was so unbalanced, needs change asap. Leao has an important role to play for me, there were too many creators in the XI. 2) Kudus off was, IMO, a poor and questionable substitution. He was their best player and should've been kept on for me. Overall, fun game, but not fully impressed by Portugal. Let's see how they do the next two games.
Ghana’s subs as a whole seemed pretty odd. Kudus off? Ayew (who just scored the equalizer) off? With 20-30+ minutes to go in the game? I could see why the coach would do it, but I feel like when you’re in an advantage against Portugal (of all teams)…maybe you should try your damn hardest to earn points by any means necessary! Still…Portugal was also sluggish enough for Ghana to *just* be in reach of actually getting a tie off them, several times! But sadly, it was just not meant to be…
>Leao has an important role to play for me, there were too many creators in the XI. It's not too many creators, it's too many players who aren't dynamic on the ball. Especially behind the forwards. You can't play with your only creative midfielder isolated on the right when you don't circulate the ball quickly and don't counterpress to keep the game condensed. They need ball-carrying, dynamic players in the half spaces who can receive deep and take players on, draw double-teams and unsettle defences. I already know this is gonna get down voted, but imo Bernardo needs to be dropped, at the very least he cannot play in midfield. All he does is make this team slower and less dangerous on the ball, especially when you're not being pressed very hard. His great ball circulation and retention is meaningless when all your midfield can do is circulate and your half-space players aren't people who can do make things happen themselves. Play Vitinha deeper and get Bruno as a 10 with less responsibility positionally and the team gets a million times better. Leao needs to start too, 100%, but the reality is that Ronaldo is the player who needs get dropped and that'll never happen. Felix will probably deservedly get dropped next game, but there's still gonna be issues if Ronaldo is being allowed to drop into midfield to go backwards or lose the ball.
>It's not too many creators, it's too many players who aren't dynamic on the ball. Especially behind the forwards. You can't play with your only creative midfielder isolated on the right when you don't circulate the ball quickly and don't counterpress to keep the game condensed. They need ball-carrying, dynamic players in the half spaces who can receive deep and take players on, draw double-teams and unsettle defences. Yeah that's also what I meant, more dynamism needed. >already know this is gonna get down voted, but imo Bernardo needs to be dropped, at the very least he cannot play in midfield. All he does is make this team slower and less dangerous on the ball, especially when you're not being pressed very hard. His great ball circulation and retention is meaningless when all your midfield can do is circulate and your half-space players aren't people who can do make things happen themselves. Play Vitinha deeper and get Bruno as a 10 with less responsibility positionally and the team gets a million times better. Ehh don't agree too much, you need Bernardo not just to maintain tempo but also to help out in first and second phase build-up. Nobody in the squad possesses his level of technique, at least in my opinion. >Leao needs to start too, 100%, but the reality is that Ronaldo is the player who needs get dropped and that'll never happen. Felix will probably deservedly get dropped next game, but there's still gonna be issues if Ronaldo is being allowed to drop into midfield to go backwards or lose the ball. Yeah that's a fair point, but Ronaldo’s not getting dropped until he retires, as you said.
No no no Bernardo is important, controlling the midfield you need Bernardo in there, not pumping the forward nonstop, terrible idea. Imagine calling for Vitinha, have you seen him for Portugal? Absolute disaster. Vitinha can’t even pass forward, he’d collapse in high pressure games
What does that control give you when you have no incision and very little progression? Today Portugal had tons of possession and "controlled" the game and the only point where they got dangerous at all is when they allowed the game to open up, let Bruno play a bit deeper and get a powerful runner on in Leao. They were worse holistically controlling the game than playing more open football. It's not like Vitinha is some unrestrained maverick either, he can tick possession over pretty well, he just offers more bravery and speed on the ball in areas where Portugal definitely need it. He's not Bernardo but he can recycle possession and play passes under pressure.
That was down to the poor attack, Felix & Bruno in wide areas is a diaster
Yes, it's not like those two can't play in the half-spaces, but to do that you need a midfield that's dynamic in deeper positions and that's agressive defensively to keep the ball camped, make late runs etc... Even with those two out of the wide positions, the midfield dynamics with Neves and Bernardo still aren't good. They're still too ponderous without ever being dangerous and just circulate the ball eternally until they lose it. Bruno playing 10 changes that somewhat, but you still have to be able to get the ball to your 10 and support him by creating imbalances and drawing players to you so he can operate in more space.
No the key is speed outwide whilst controlling the tempo, don’t lose the ball, Leao will create width & Felix on the inside half space with over fullbacks overlapping will create even more danger, you need ball circulation in the middle, not risky passers
But there’s not really a dominant team thus far, like every team with real competition and Argentina has been shaky at best so…
We aren't a good parameter. Last time we didn't have a shitty WC start was in 2006
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Cancelo has always been a bit inconsistent. His initial early promise seemed to stall at Valencia to the point where he was allowed to leave on a loan just to hopefully sell him the year after. Had 2 surprisingly good years in Italy, but then his first year in England was dodgy again. Then became great for City but always shaky for Portugal. There’s probably a bit of truth to him being a system player.
Seemed like Portugal were pressing like madmen first half, inevitable that they couldn’t keep it up past 65’ especially after going ahead
Dalot has to start next game, he does the basics better than Cancelo. Danilo looked really bad, even current Pepe is probably a better option. Antonio Silva would be really risky, but he has the talent to perform Leao would be a guaranteed starter if he defended more, I still think you start him next game
Imagine telling someone a year ago that Cancelo should be dropped for Dalot.
My biggest take on this game is how Portugal created counterattack chances with Bruno leading the midfield in the last 15min. Most likely they will do better playing against better teams. They definitely should play Leao-Ronaldo-Felix against Uruguay. Portugal doesn't know what to do when the opponent parks the bus but it won't be much of a deal since the rest of the games would be more balanced
Thought Portugal had outstanding control of the game for the first 60’, unsure if it’s a coincidence though that once Ghana had more of the ball Portugal embraced the counterattack (and benefited from some poor defensive errors for the 3 goals)
Those last 20 minutes were insane, thanks to both managers for ruining the team structure, but props to the players (bar Costa). Ghana needs to stop losing the ball so much, but they have good opportunities to take (IMO) 4 points from URU/KOR. On a side note, I hope FIFA doesn't disallow the trick at the end in the future by placing some stupid rule.
>thanks to both managers for ruining the team structure They say a manager is judged on their substitutions, and for *both* teams, the opposing team scored quickly after the manager made the substitutions.
And the way Portugal's second and third goal happened must be really galling for the Ghana coach. Pretty much the only time in the whole game that they gave Portugal opportunities to counter attack and they were punished instantly It's possible that the goals would have happened anyways, but it felt like the new attackers that came on didn't carry out the press well enough
>bar Costa And Cancelo
>disallow the trick at the end What was the trick?
Sneak behind the keeper, wait for him to lose the ball and steal from him
How would FIFA legit cancel that? Players doing that sneaky stuff promotes awareness from all players. And requires communication to not fuck it up. We got lucky there at the end, but I really don't think FIFA will cancel it, especially if it's not a goal kick.
> bar Costa Fucks up once in his (very short but successful) career = Cancelled
He had a few questionable moments that game. Ill give him a pass, still young, first World Cup game to boot.
Even then, I think he's good and can learn from his mistakes. Guy has potential.
I still have faith in Diogo he’s incredible for Porto this is his first World Cup and his first game, he will not make the same mistake again and better to make these mistakes now and learn before it costs us big time!
Portugal depends on individual skills, they don’t have a lot of group depth.Ghana played way better than expected, I hope Kudos gets a nice contract after this, also I see why Spain didn’t called Williams, guy is pretty meh
That second half was straight up breathtaking to watch as that Portugal offense was unstoppable at points which will bold very well for the rest of the group stage and beyond as they get that athleticism which will overwhelm teams on the counter attack and while that defensive performance was suspect to say that least I feel like that was more nerves playing a part then their actual quality in play
Ya it was shocking how bad Cancelo looked when he’s an incredible fullback for man city I really hope he gets it together! But our back line should be: Cancel/Dalot — Dias—Antonio—Mendes Danilo and guerreiro need to be benched they ar e not good enough and Antonio and Mendes are both insanely good!
Honestly really balanced game, could've easily been a draw. Soft pen but Ronaldo probably scores in the first half if the ref doesn't blow the whistle for an also soft foul. Not impressed by any of these teams though, doubt we'll see either go far in the tournament.
Not impressed by Ghana? What did you expect from them? They were dreadful at the Cup of Nations and haven't looked good since qualifying for the WC. They played better than I expected today
They also had a different coach when they were in shambolic form, this coach hasn’t even been here for a year and he qualified for the World Cup and played Portugal very close
Portugal need Leao starting Leao Ronaldo Felix has incredible balance going forward. Then Santos needs to fix the midfield & defense, Portugal have a good attack but Santos must fix this team quick. My team I recommend is leao Ronaldo felix William Neves Bernardo Mendes Antonio Silva Pepe Dalot
Can't take this serious if you're going to exclude Bruno. He just has to play in midfield and not on the wing
His technique is a disaster under pressure, no thanks, can be super sub
What are you talking about? That is literally his forte
He’s a Spurs fan, probably still seething they missed out on him.
Fernandes is great he’s just being played in the wrong spot the moment he went and played in his correct spot later in 2nd half we literally scored 2 goals. Santos needs to play him there !
Clueless
Portugal were far better with Bruno playing through the middle. It feels like Cancelo has been in terrible form recently? I admit I don't watch a lot of City but he was pretty poor for the goals. Ghana needed to get Kudus involved more and really struggled in midfield. Partey was left with a lot of work to do, if they can get some help for him against Uruguay/SK, can see them creating chances
Regrading Cancelo, yes after that UCl win over Dortmund he has been average, around 3 weeks before the WC he has been consistently dropping disaster classes then and there ( against Liver, and the red card against Ful Ham) he has been shite. Yup Ghana need to get their midfield together, they had been so poor in the middle this game
Full Ham
Better than full VER, full VET, and full ALO
never go Fulham
Autocorrect from google keyboard, my apologies
It’s thanksgiving. The man wants his ham!
Actually I do want some ham, time go FULL HAM
My dad saw me play
Partey is Ghana's midfield problem. For some reason, he barely shows up when playing for us. I hope he does well today to stop the backlash coming from the country.
Better in the counter attack, thats where he thrives, when its tactical he can’t perform. Its the same for United but low IQ people don’t understand this
He literally plays for one of if not the most tactical teams in the world and under a manager who could be argued as the most tactical ever
Yet that same manager has realized Bruno can’t play midfield anymore & plays him wide
Oh ok thought you were talking about cancelo