Portugal march on despite failing to shine yet again
Their system, which relies heavily on Cristiano's goals, almost saw them eliminated when their talisman didn't get on the scoresheet
Portugal, the current European champions, continued along their route to achieving their dream of World Cup glory despite the suffering and agony they went through against Iran on Monday. The team is yet to get going at the tournament and once again finds itself heavily dependent on Cristiano Ronaldo scoring goals.
'Conquer or Dream' is Portugal's slogan for the World Cup in Russia. They're still alive in the competition but only because Iran, who drew level thanks to a controversial last minute penalty, missed a huge chance at the end which would've sent Cristiano and company home. For a side which drew 3-3 with Spain in the opening fixture, they were inches away from failing to get out of a group which also contained Morocco and Iran.
Just like what happened in the previous two matches, against Spain and Morocco, Portugal didn't perform like group leaders and on some occasions were at the mercy of Carlos Queiroz's Iran. In this match they were superior when it came to possession (62-38), shots on goal (14-8, 7-5 on target) and in completed passes (619-226). But, once again, they didn't give off the image you'd expect from a team which won the Euros. Even their greatest player, Cristiano, failed to get his name on the scoreboard.
The Real Madrid striker, who came into this game with four goals to his name, completed a match to forget against Iran. In the 53rd minute he saw Iranian goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand save his penalty and minutes later he could've been sent off for a wild elbow. The referee consulted VAR and they decided it was only worthy of a yellow card. He was lucky this time.
Despite his poor showing against Iran, Ronaldo has been the leader of this group and is the only reason they are going through to the Last 16. Without any resemblance of good football on show Portugal have relied heavily on their 'No.7' to survive. It's true that against Morocco the goalkeeper, Rui Patricio, was their other saviour and it was Ricardo Quaresma who scored the goal against Iran.
The Besiktas player responded to the expectations of him when named in the starting line up but, as was the case against Spain, the player was incapable of controlling the game and failed to kill off his opponents. Iran, with one of the last kicks of the game, almost knocked Portugal out of the tournament.
Regardless of that, the squad remains strong and continues onwards. They know that through difficulties they can grow and improve. The main stars are still achieving their objectives. There's satisfaction for making the next round but with reservations too. The tournament is now entering its knockout stages and they will need to produce better performances. They face an unbeaten Uruguay side on Saturday and it'll represent a true test to Portugal's dream of World Cup victory.
