Portugal player ratings for clash with France

Another game, another 0-0 for Portugal as they battled to a draw against World champions France to stay top of their UEFA Nations League group.

It was a strategic and competitive battle between two nations who knew the significant attacking threats of one another, and caution unsurprisingly led to a goalless encounter, with both sides picking up a well-earned point.

But how did the Portugal players fare in the match? Here we rate the performances of each of the starters for the game, as well as the substitutes:

Rui Patricio - 7

If the match against Spain was pretty comfortable for Patricio, then this was a walk in the park. Very little to do in the game overall, only facing a handful of shots, most of which were fired straight at him. However, he stopped everything that came his way convincingly, and pulled off a good stop to deny Mbappe very early on in the second half. His distribution was also good, and you always felt comfortable knowing Patricio was in between the sticks. A much deserved 7 for a comfortable display.

Nelson Semedo - 8

There was no real single standout player for Portugal in this one, who put in a very strong team performance, but Nelson Semedo was perhaps one of the contenders for man of the match for Portugal. He looked incredibly accomplished throughout the evening, and was unfazed when facing the daunting task of coming up against Mbappe. He produced a handful of interceptions, tackles and blocks to cut out France’s attacking threats, and showed great energy to get forward on the overlap ahead of Bernardo Silva to get a couple of good crosses into the box, working very hard for the team. He was very calm, very composed, and even when he miscued his clearance near the end of the game he recovered well to clear his lines immediately afterwards. A very complete performance from the Wolves man.

Pepe - 8

Another extremely impressive performance from veteran centreback Pepe at the heart of the Portugal backline, showing incredible athleticism and leadership throughout the game. His second half seemed particularly impressive, likely because the game became more stretched after the break, but two very good interceptions helped protect the Portugal goal, while his tackle on Mbappe before shepherding him off the pitch was perhaps the highlight. He very nearly rounded off a great defensive display with a goal through a bullet header, but was just offside when the ball was whipped in. But extremely well-rounded effort from the Porto defender.

Ruben Dias - 7

Another solid display from the Manchester City defender. Perhaps was caught out a little early on when Giroud jumped well above him to header towards the Portugal goal - Dias failed to get off the ground which allowed Giroud to make clean contact, though fortunately his effort was misguided, while the France striker did manage to shrug him off a little later in the first half too. But generally he was very solid, putting in some strong headers out of the box and some great tackles on the ground. He is undoubtedly the future of Portugal’s defence, and likely the heir to Pepe. It’s just a case of finding him a reliable new partner for 2023 onwards should Pepe decide to call time on his career.

Raphael Guerreiro - 7

It was a solid showing from Raphael Guerreiro, though it did come with a few dodgy moments. He gave the ball away fairly carelessly on three occasions, one of which was in first half stoppage time, which just gifted France one last opportunity to attack and score just before the break - though luckily they failed to take advantage. Other than that, it was a good performance, with some good defending and a couple of very good crosses into the box creating dangerous opportunities, particularly the one fed into Ronaldo, who could only tap it back across goal.

Danilo Pereira - 8

It says a lot about the general feel of the game that Nelson Semedo, Pepe and Danilo Pereira were arguably Portugal’s best players on the night. A very competent defensive performance was certainly helped significantly by a dominant display by Danilo in front of the backline. Good tackling and intercepting really helped protect Pepe and Ruben Dias behind him, in particular his perfectly timed challenge on Mbappe in the first half to break up a dangerous attack. He also made several headed clearances, coming out on top against the very physical Giroud on a couple of occasions in aerial duels. The one slightly awkward moment was when Mbappe managed to get past him with relative ease before having an effort on goal, but Patricio managed to save with relative ease. It could also be put down to the magic of Mbappe, rather than an error by Danilo, who was otherwise practically flawless.

William Carvalho - 8

Alongside Danilo in the middle of the park, William Carvalho was equally impressive, his composure on the ball a massive asset to Portugal which really helped them both in a defensive and offensive sense. He was able to dictate play for the most part, spraying some balls out wide while also keepign the game ticking over with short-range passes into the forwards. Little intricate flicks added to nice long passes over the top ensured that it was a complete game for the Real Betis man, who was also incredibly assured on the ball as he always is, even if he did uncharacteristically lose the ball on one or two occasions.

Bernardo Silva - 6

Not the best game from the Manchester City man, which perhaps explains why he was withdrawn after an hour in place of Diogo Jota. He was still bright and looking to make things happen, and linked up well with Semedo down the right flank, but didn’t leave a major impression on the game. Very nearly had the chance to open the scoring very early on, but just couldn’t quite reach Bruno Fernandes’ delicate pass over the top into the box.

Bruno Fernandes - 7

Though he did end up losing the ball a fair few times through some loose passes, that is ultimately to be expected from a player who is always looking to make attacking, forward-thinking passes, and he did manage to pair that with some very threatening balls into the box as well. A couple of good freekicks very nearly resulted in goals for Portugal, while he did work very hard both attacking-wise and defensively. He was dispossessed on one or two occasions, but he had a clear impact on the game and did make things happen.

Joao Felix - 6

The Atletico Madrid man worked hard and showed good intensity early on, but a bit like Bernardo Silva didn’t leave a major impression on the game. He managed to produce some very nice link-up play and made some good attacking moves, but not too much of real note came off. He had the chance to take the lead for Portugal but his poked effort sailed wide - and he probably would have been better off leaving it to Ronaldo behind him. A delicate dink into the box was also a nice touch - but nobody was able to get on the end of it.

Cristiano Ronaldo - 7

A solid display from Portugal’s talisman, as you would expect. Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects was his willingness to track back and help out defensively when required, putting in a real shift for his team. He had perhaps the two best chances for Portugal, only managing to knock Guerreiro’s excellent cross into the box across goal, while into second half stoppage time, his powerful effort took a slight deflection and forced Hugo Lloris into a very smart stop to preserve France’s clean sheet. A good performance for the Juventus star, even if it didn’t come with a goal.

Substitutes

Diogo Jota - 5

Like Bernardo, he also looked to make things happen, though didn’t have a huge amount of time to leave a major impression.

Renato Sanches - 5

Got a fair few touches on the ball despite only coming on with 10 minutes to go and looked good in and out of possession.

Joao Moutinho - N/A

Only came on with a few minutes remaining and hardly got a touch of the ball. He adds yet another cap to his name though!

Joao Cancelo - N/A

Looked solid enough in the few minutes he played for to close out the game.

Francisco Trincao - N/A

Despite only playing for a few minutes, he did make one good run before feeding the ball into Ronaldo, who came close to converting.