UEFA Euro 2012 Analysis : Spain Scrapes Past Portugal In Penalties

By Amlan Majumdar
12 years Ago

Spain beat Portugal on penalties as they reached the final of the Euro 2012. It was a massive heartbreak for the Portuguese side who gave it their all and were perhaps, atleast tactically, the better side on the night.

Spain took on Portugal in the first of the two semi-finals. It was to be their 13th meeting in the last 54 years. Portugal, historically, held a good record against Spain having lost only two of these fixtures. In fact, the last time this two sides met was in a friendly, where a strong Spanish side was defeated 4-0 by Portugal.

Both the teams started in a 4-3-3 formation. While Portugal were forced to make a change to their starting line-up as Hugo Almeida came in the place of injured Helder Postiga, Spain had a surprise up their sleeves. Del Bosque, quite surprisingly, started with Negredo ahead of Fabregas, Torres and Llorente.

Portugal starting line-up : Patricio (Gk); Pereira, Pepe, Alves, Coentrao; Veloso, Moutinho, Meireles; Ronaldo, Almeida, Nani

Spain starting line-up : Casillas (Gk); Arbeloa, Ramos, Pique, Alba; Xavi, Buquets, Alonso; Silva, Negredo, Iniesta

First Half : Portugal On Fire

Spain got off the block early in the match with Arbeloa and Iniesta having shots at goal in quick succession. It was as if they were making a conscious effort to be more direct, after being criticized for lacking decisiveness against France at times. This, all of a sudden, woke up their opponent andAi?? a new Portugal arrived on the pitch.

The early exchanges saw some definitive patterns appearing in the game. Fabio Coentrao tried to play long ball over the top of the Spanish defense to release Cristiano Ronaldo in behind. More of the same followed soon after this on either flanks.

Interestingly Spain, who are known to press hard when they lose the ball, surprisingly seemed off the boil somehow. They didn’t press hard from the top and perhaps to counter the threat of Ronaldo and Nani on the wings, they sat deeper than usual. Del Bosque’s team were visibly worried of leaving space in behind their defense. This allowed Portugal to push up the field with their defense holding a pretty high line.

Pepe was almost deployed as an advanced sweeper, trying to win back balls from the Spanish attackers higher up the pitch. In fact, Veloso was the one who dropped deep from the midfield to cover for Pepe. It was reminiscent of the role Pepe has so often been deployed in by Mourinho against Barcelona.

Coentrao and Pereira had a great first half of the match. Both kept pushing forward and closing out the flanks, which certainly helped in pushing back Arbeloa and Jordi Alba, who hardly made any contributions going forward. Spain’s passing seemed to be off the boil as well, with Xavi and Alonso having little or no effect on the game. Ironically, one of their best chances came from a long ball which helped Negredo get behind the high back-line. He held up the ball really well, before passing it to Xavi who in turn set up Iniesta but the Barcelona man’s shot flew over the post.

Sergio Ramos was given a tough time handling Ronaldo and Nani, who drifted in field. Hugo Almeida was also winning his fair share of balls in the air against Gerard Pique.

Although there was no goals in the first half, Portugal were by far the better the team.

Second Half : A Tale Of Ronaldo And His Misses!

At the start of the second half Negredo was replaced by Cesc Fabregas, while soon after this David Silva was replaced by Jesus Navas as Del Bosque ringed in the changes.

Portugal on the other hand shifted players at the top. Cristiano Ronaldo took a more central role, which allowed Moutinho to drift out wide on the right, while Nani went to the left flank. Hugo Almeida also drifted out left, trying to exploit the channels. The Portuguese striker did find success in doing so as he was set up by Ronaldo twice on the left, but on both the occasions his shots flew well over the bar.

Portugal midfielders had defined roles in this match. Miguel Veloso played the deepest of the three midfielders, providing a shield in front of the defense. Meireles was the most central of the trident and acted as the link between the defense and the attack. Joao Moutinho had a free role, drifting out wide and joining in attack.

Ronaldo and Nani kept on exchanging flanks as the Real Madrid man won three freekicks from dangerous positions. But on all the occasions he was unable to test Casillas. Spain, with the introduction of Navas, tried to conjure up attacks down the right, but Coentrao, who was perhaps Portugal’s best player on the night put on a world-class display as he kept his side guarded of any threat.

Portugal made their first substitution of the match as Hugo Almeida was taken off for Nelson Oliveira. While Spain made their final move, bringing on Pedro in place of Xavi, who perhaps had one his poorest game for the national team. Few moments after this, the best opportunity of the match of the match fell to Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal launched a wonderful counter attack after defending a Spanish corner. Meireles charged up the field with the ball and eventually fed it to Ronaldo on the left, but the Real Madrid man, quite disappointingly, didn’t hit the target.

Extra-time : Portugal Hold On, Barely!

With Pedro and Navas on the wings, Spain tried to exploit the wide areas. In the first half of the extra-time, both the teams tightened up as no one wanted to commit ‘the’ fatal mistake. Most notable attacks for Spain was built down their left-wing as Jordi Alba for the first time in match, was allowed room to move forward. The Valencia left-back made a wonderful round down the left and crossed to Iniesta, who had an open goal in front of him, but he hit his shot straight at the keeper. It was the best chance of the match for either side. Sergio Ramos came close to scoring with a freekick just at the stroke of halftime in extra time, as his shot brushed the post.

The problem for Bento was that he hardly had the kind of resource on the bench as Del Bosque had. So it was hard for him to make changes despite growing fatigue within the team. This also resulted in Spain growing in the match as their passing was back to its best. Bento finally made two changes as he brought on Custodio and Varela in the place of Veloso and Meireles as Portugal prepared for penalty kicks.

In the closing moments of the match, Portugal held on by the skin of their teeth as Navas and specially Pedro caused havoc down the wings. But Coentrao and Pepe ensured the match headed in penalty shoot-out.

Penalty Shoot-out

In the end, Spain scraped through, just. It was heartbreak for Portugal who gave it their all, and can go out with their head held high. Cristiano Ronaldo, who was listed as the 5th penalty taker, didn’t even get his chance. Fabio Coentrao, despite being the best player on the pitch ended up being on the losing side. Cesc Fabregas scored the winning penalty for Spain.

Man of the match : Fabio Coentrao

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Categories: COVER STORY, Euro 2012
Tags: Euro 2012

First Half : Portugal On Fire

Second Half : A Tale Of Ronaldo And His Misses!

Extra-time : Portugal Hold On, Barely!

Penalty Shoot-out

Man of the match : Fabio Coentrao

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