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Portugal 0-1 France A goal from Kanté gave the French victory
EFE
FRancia struck the table in Group 3 of League A of the Nations League. The 0-1 victory in Lisbon over Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Félix’s Portugal qualifies ‘les bleus’ for the ‘final four’ of this second edition of the Nations League. The second for both N’Golo Kanté and international also puts an end to the ‘glorious cycle’ of the Portuguese: They came from winning Euro 2016 in France against France (0-1) and proclaiming themselves champions of the first edition of the Nations League in Porto against the Netherlands (1-0). In the absence of a matchday, those of Deschamps (13 points) are already unattainable for those of Fernandos Santos (10), who have the particular ‘golaverage’ lost.
Fernando Santos presented an eleven totally different from the one that thrashed Andorra (7-0). He did not repeat any headlines. The main novelty in the Portuguese 4-3-3 was the return of the duo: Cristiano Ronaldo-Joao Félix. The ‘bianconero’ played from ‘false 9’, but with total freedom, and Joao Félix started as a winger starting from the left.
Didier Deschamps also varied dramatically. Paul Pogba was the only starter in the loss to Finland (0-2) who played again from the start. The loss of Kylian Mbappé due to a sore thigh – he could be against Sweden – and Ben Yedder due to COVID-19 forced a new attack to be drawn in the 4-3-1-2 of ‘les blues’. Griezmann, playing as ’10’, served as a shuttle for Martial and Coman.
Cristiano, who had just achieved his 100th victory with Portugal, added a new anniversary. He played his 169th match with Portugal and is already among the 10 players with the most caps of all time. Far away, for now, the 184 of the Egyptian Ahmed Hassan.
He could not, yes, increase his list of goals. Only seven goals (109-102) separate him from equaling Iranian Ali Daei as the top scorer in history at the national level. In this way, he continues his ‘jinx’ with France: he has not scored on any of the six times they have faced each other.
He tried, with no luck, on at least two occasions before the break. His were the first and last shots of the first half. In the 6 ‘he connected a’ shell ‘from outside the area that Lloris deflected as best he could. On 45 ‘, on the other hand, a corner kick from Bruno Fernandes headed high.
France, in any case, was far superior on Da Luz’s turf. ‘Les bleus’ should have gone ahead at halftime if it were not for the poor aim of Anthony Martial or the success of Rui Patrício, depending on how you look. The Manchester United striker missed three chances to score, each one clearer.
In 12 ‘he saw how Rui Patrício took a hand in hand after an extraordinarily filtered pass by Griezmann. In 30 ‘he crashed on the’ wood ‘a beautiful strategy play: Griezmann took the free-kick, Varane yielded back, Rabiot finished with a scissors … and Martial headed the crossbar at point-blank range. In 41 ‘his third blunder arrived: Lucas Hernández served a center measured to the ‘heart’ of the small area and France’s ’10’ finished off against the body of Rui Patrício.
The second act started like the first. Cristiano faked with a free-kick that brushed the post on 47 ‘… and France, this time, struck. Griezmann found Rabiot between the lines and the Juve midfielder hit a cross shot that, paradoxically, escaped from Rui Patrício’s hands. Kanté, attentive, went ahead of Guerreiro and sent the rejection to the network.
Rui Patrício, suddenly, went from ‘hero’ to ‘executioner’. The Wolverhampton keeper saw his 558-minute streak cut short with Portugal without conceding. Kanté truncated another streak, for the better this time. The Chelsea midfielder had not scored with France since March 29, 2016, almost five years ago. It is his second goal with ‘les bleus’.
Portugal, after the 0-1, took a step forward. The entrance of Diogo Jota, Moutinho and Trincao -in place of William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva- he helped ‘lock up’ France. However, it was difficult for the Portuguese to generate many dangerous occasions. They enjoyed, yes, three good ‘chances’: Lloris showed off Raphael Guerreiro’s shot in the 60th minute and José Fonte, at the center of Bernardo Silva, headed the post for the subsequent rebound. The other ‘great’ opportunity came with a long shot from Joao Moutinho that Lloris pulled from the squad. With the time almost up, Portugal claimed a possible penalty from Lucas on Trincao, very active on the right the time he played.
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