Portugal — Slovenia: Crying Out for Ideas (0-0, 3-0 After Penalties)

Portugal won on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals against France but put on an uninspiring performance, devoid of ideas of how to enter the box; they spammed crosses from the fringes into an organized wall of Slovenian defenders.

Tactical analysis and match report by Kyle Boas.

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This is a promising Portuguese side filled with talent, but they do not seem to be living up to their full potential as a squad. This was a disappointing way to attempt to bounce from their shock defeat to Georgia.

Portugal returned to their more familiar back-four lineup they used against Türkiye which included Diogo Costa in goal and Nuno Mendes, Pepe, Ruben Dias, and Joaõ Cancelo in defense. Palhinha, Vitinha, and Bernardo Silva inverted from the right wing, and Bruno Fernandes played in midfield. Rafael Leão held wide on the left-wing, with Cristiano Ronald up front.

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez reminded us before the match that Slovenia beat Portugal in March in a friendly, two to nil. They used a completely different set of players in that loss, and there were no outward signs of trepidation or wariness to defend first to not repeat the same result. The blueprint for how Slovenia played was fresh in their minds.

Slovenia manager Matjaž Kek named an unchanged side from their draw to England. The same 4-4-2 formation that stymied England was used to limit Portugal’s effectiveness in wide areas.

Portugal on the Perimeter

24th minute: Nuno Mendes holds the ball, and Slovenia double-pressures Bernardo Silva as he moves wide. Palhinha and an inverted João Cancelo are closely man-marked.

Portugal allowed João Cancelo to move from right-back into the half-space. That pushed Bernardo Silva wide to the touchline. They both had the license to rotate in and out of either position. Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, and Cristiano Ronaldo would often move out wide on Portugal’s left side when Nuno Mendes had the ball.

Slovenia did a good job containing Portugal when they tried to pass to feet out from Nuno Mendes and were often pressured into passing long over the top to Rafael Leao down the left-wing. Palhinha’s only escape from the tight man-marking was to drop back and move between Pepe and Ruben Dias. Once he did move, Vitinha was outnumbered, and João Cancelo was uninterested in staying back to help build up from the back.

With all of the midfielders and forwards on the perimeter, Portugal had to advance through the wings.

Everything Ends in a Cross

Slovenia had a seemingly endless amount of energy and were able to shepherd Portugal around the perimeter of the pitch until the ball ended up on the wing. The wing was their only savior because it was the area in which the majority of their chances were generated.

Most of the crossing attempts came from João Cancelo on the right-wing to the back post, for which he only completed one of five attempts. When the cross wasn’t blocked or over everyone’s head, Slovenia’s center-backs, Jaka Bijol and Vanja Drkusic, dominated their aerial duels against Cristiano Ronaldo, never allowing him to get a clean purchase on any of his attempted headers.

47th minute: Rafael Leaõ beats his man and then cuts back a pass to João Palhinha at the top of the box for the shot.

The only memorable chance created from the left wing came from a driven cut-back cross on the ground from Rafael Leaõ to Palhinha at the top of the box, for which Palhinha drove the shot wide of the post to end the first half.

How Slovenia Saved Energy

Slovenia didn’t see much of the ball; they had to withstand Portugal’s seventy-two percent possession. Because Portugal abandoned the center of the pitch, Slovenia were able to press in a way that would allow them to save energy and maintain the same level of pressure throughout the entire match.

68th minute: Portugal pass around the back to Vitinha as he drops, and Adam Gnezda Cerin pressures the ball from midfield.

Portugal’s midfielders moved wide and dropped back to help work the ball to the wings. Slovenia smartly kept both strikers Benjamin Sesko and Andraz Sporar on the left because, when Vitinha ultimately dropped due to a lack of options for Pepe, midfielder Adam Gnezda Cerin could follow from the second line to put pressure on the ball. He could follow because there was no threat of a pass central into the midfield. Portgual did not vary their passing patterns. The ball was always going to end up on the outside.

When Portugal ran out of room on the left, they would switch to the other side of the pitch, and the two strikers were already there in place to put pressure on Ruben Dias, João Cancelo, Bruno Fernandes, or Bernardo Silva.

Substitutions

In the 65th minute, Portugal subbed off Vitinha for Diogo Jota. Portugal’s main source of progression is from the midfield off for an attacker. This changes the makeup of the side, further accentuating the gap between the back line and the front line. It was the back-three defenders, Palhinha randomly placed in the center, dropping back to help circulate the ball, and the six forwards waiting for the ball to make its way to them on the ground. If you could manage to dodge the two to three Slovenian midfielders, you could play a full five-a-side game between the two lines.

The pace of play was slow. The only positive that came from this setup was that Nuno Mendes now had a lot of open space to carry into from the half-way line to the middle of Slovenia’s half.

By the 74th minute, both sides began to settle for extra time and brought on fresh legs to get to full-time. Slovenia center-forward Andraz Solar came off for Zan Celar, and left midfielder Jan Mlakar came off for Jon Gorenc-Stankovic. In the 76th minute, Portugal countered by substituting Francisco Conceição for Rafael Leaõ. In the 87th minute, Benjamin Verbic was subbed on for midfielder Petar Stojanovic.

Extra-Time and Penalties

In the 102nd minute, Portugal won a penalty from their first carry of the match from the center of the pitch into the box. Diogo Jota was bundled over after attempting to dribble past and then through four defenders. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty, and it was miraculously saved to Jan Oblak’s left. Ronaldo was left in shock and tears as he entered the top five for the most shots attempted (20) without scoring at a single EURO tournament since 1980.

The only other chance to come from extra time came from a mistaken touch by Pepe to gift the ball to Benjamin Sesko in Portugal’s half. Diogo Costa came out of his goal, made himself big, and saved the 21-year-old’s low shot with his left leg. That being the second shot on target of the game from Slovenia, Portugal only managed six shots on target.

Cristiano Ronaldo redeemed himself in the shoot-out, placing it narrowly past Jan Oblak on his right side. Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva converted both of their penalties, and Diogo Costa sent Portugal to the quarterfinals by becoming the first goalkeeper ever to save three penalties in a single penalty shootout at the EURO’s.

Takeaways

Portugal made it too easy for Slovenia to defend against them by only focusing their attack on the wings. They should look to vary the way they work the ball into the final third by playing through the center of the pitch more often. By working the ball through the center, like Diogo Jota did to win the penalty, they’ll force the opponent to open space on the wings. Slovenia would then need to move more to defend the space, which would have forced them to expend more energy.

The runs in the left half-space from left-back Nuno Mendes are nice to have, but Rafael Leaõ could have benefited more from having the more measured and controlled passing of Goncalo Inacio behind him instead. They lacked spontaneity, and you need consistent, accurate passing to get into a rhythm.

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