Portugal player ratings after the Euro 2020 group stage
Portugal are through to the round of 16 of Euro 2020 - though it's been a mixed start to Portugal's European title defence, with one win, one draw, and one defeat already on the board.
A 3-0 victory over Hungary - which was somewhat flattering to Portugal to say the least - was followed up with a 4-2 humbling against Germany that could have easily been even worse had Germany been a little more clinical in front of goal - but Portugal stepped up when needed to earn a crucial point against the reigning world champions France in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
It was a frantic group stage campaign overall, with few players impressing across all three matches - but here is out verdict on how each of them have performed so far.
Rui Patricio - 7
A meer bystander for the vast majority of the clash versus Hungary, there wasn't much to write home about for Portugal's number one, although he didn't cover himself in glory for Hungary's offside goal, where diving to his left he got a hand to the ball but failed to keep it out. It was fortuitous that the delayed flag did eventually go up. For the game against Germany, it's difficult to give a goalkeeper a good rating when they concede four, though none of the goals were really his fault and he did pull off a couple of smart stops to keep Germany out and keep the scoreline respectable. Nevertheless, as Wolves fans know all too well, his distribution was terrible throughout the game, and his long passes often drifted out of play and turned over possession with great regularity, putting Portugal under immediate pressure. He completely stepped up when Portugal needed him to though, and was immense in the meeting with France. That exceptional double save to keep Portugal level alone earns him a 9 in that match, which boosts his overall rating so far to a 7.
Nelson Semedo - 6.5
It's been a very up and down - and then up again - campaign so far for Nelson Semedo, who allayed any fears of João Cancelo's unfortunate absence after a blistering opening 45 minutes against Hungary. He was getting forward on the overlap, linking up with Bernardo and co with great efficiency, and looked solid in his defensive duties too. He was quieter in the second half, but overall was one of Portugal's standout performers on the opening day and deserved a rating in and around 7.
However, the Portuguese defensive flanks were exposed with alarming regularity against Germany, whose four goals all came from crosses that were not dealt with or closed down at source. Much of the criticism Nelson has received has been exaggerated and unfair, as he didn't get any help defensively from Bernardo Silva - and later on Renato Sanches and Rafa Silva in front of him - but there were a couple of occasions where his positioning was all over the place and he was sucked into central areas where there was already sufficient cover. For the third goal, though again not entirely his fault, he needs to take much of the blame, as is true for the first, where he was not reacting to the danger and marking Gosens out wide. That wasn’t his designated job though, and once more the wingers’ lack of desire to help in the defensive third of the game was the more notable issue in this instance.
But Nelson came to life in the third match, and was as effective as he was against Hungary, if not more so. He was quick and confident running down the wing, and managed to deal with Mbappe impressively for the vast majority of the match. The penalty that he gave away was ludicrously harsh and cannot take anything away from what was a really good performance overall.
Pepe - 6.5
Against Hungary, there were moments that the hosts caused Portugal some worries, and on almost every occasion Pepe was a match for what they threw at him. He was dominant defensively and in the air, even causing Hungary some problems at the other end of the pitch, and the only time he failed to deal with an attack was when Hungary scored their offside goal - though he appealed for offside and knew pretty much instantly that the goal wasn’t going to stand. Against Germany, he didn’t do well for Portugal’s second goal, and when you concede four as a central defender it does indicate you weren’t at your best, though he can’t be faulted too much. You also have to appreciate his tenacity for Portugal’s second goal versus Germany - it was Ronaldo who ultimately clipped the ball back into the danger area, but the man behind him also ready to keep the ball alive was Pepe, the veterans leading by example. Against France, Pepe was a leader, commanding his backline very well, and hardly put a foot wrong against the world champions, although he did lose out in a foot race with Mbappe on a couple of occasions - unsurprisingly. Still, a strong campaign from the Portuguese legend so far.
Ruben Dias - 6
The Manchester City star has done a good job in the heart of Portugal’s defence having forged a good partnership with Pepe - though 6 goals conceded in the last two games does show there are fragilities there. Against Hungary, Portugal were largely in control and Ruben Dias wasn’t tested too extensively, though against Germany it was a very different story. As already pointed out, the issue for Portugal came more down the wings rather than anything to do with the centrebacks, and that Ruben Dias scored an own goal is a harsh reflection on his overall performance, and was pretty unavoidable. He didn’t do a great job for Germany’s third though, failing to intercept the cross from Gosens and allowing Havertz to tap home. Against France, considering the opposition, it was a fairly quiet game, and Dias can’t really take the blame for either goal.
Raphael Guerreiro - 5
Didn’t get remotely close enough to Kimmich for Germany’s fourth goal, allowing the Bayern midfielder to whip the ball into the back post without any pressure whatsoever, ultimately leading to Portugal conceding yet again on the night. That was particularly disappointing, with Portugal playing far too narrowly defensively, playing into the hands of the Germans, and Guerreiro needs to take a large part of the blame for that fourth goal in particular. He did score the goal versus Hungary - though his shot was tame and would have caused the keeper no problems had it not taken a big deflection, and it has been at the other end of the pitch where he’s had difficulties. Defensively, he has been shakey to say the least.
Danilo Pereira - 6
Danilo wasn’t tested too much defensively against Hungary, but against Germany, he and William Carvalho didn’t have the best of games in the centre of midfield, sitting too deep far too often, giving Germany space to push forwards and put Portugal under pressure. Against France he was much, much better though, looking very dominant in that defensive midfield role with two other midfielders alongside him. He also showed great commitment and bravery to win the penalty that put Portugal in front ahead of the world champions.
William Carvalho - 4.5
It’s harsh on William because, after a season where game time was hard to come by, he couldn’t have been fully match fit heading into this tournament and likely only made the squad because it was expanded to accomodate 26 names instead of the usual 23. However, as typically such an integral part to Fernando Santos’ side, and after performing well in pre-tournament friendlies, he earned the right to start for his country at the European Champions, but it ultimately has been an underwhelming campaign for the Betis man so far, and the double pivot of him and Danilo was badly exploited against Germany, where Portugal just didn’t seem to be able to gain control in central midfield and didn’t seem to have the energy needed to instigate attacking moves
Bruno Fernandes - 5.5
It hasn’t really been Bruno Fernandes’ tournament so far. There have been moments - his beautiful delivery into Cristiano Ronaldo in the first half against Hungary was worthy of an assist - and should really have given him one - while his corner in the second half found the head of Pepe and could have also easily led to the deadlock breaking. His long-range shot was also noteworthy and would have found the back of the net but for a good save from Gulacsi, while he also deserves credit for the assist of the assist for Portugal’s opening goal of the tournament, playing in Rafa Silva with a great through-ball. But otherwise, he’s been a bit of a bystander this tournament, and it was no surprise that he was dropped from the Portugal XI against France after a really anonymous display versus Germany.
Renato Sanches - 8.5
It feels like the introduction of Renato Sanches almost single-handedly turned Portugal’s fortunes around. Particularly against Germany, which did ultimately end in defeat, Renato was incredibly effective off the bench when replacing Bernardo Silva, adding energy, directness and power in midfield - although he was certainly at least partly at fault for Germany’s third goal, following in Bernardo Silva’s footstepts by not tracking back appropriately. He was dominant in duals though, and his thunderbolt from distance to nearly put the game at 4-3 was sensational. Against France, he was very arguably the best player on the pitch, again incredibly strong in posession, composed on the ball and incredibly tough to tackle. He was looking to make things happen, and was also contributing in the defensive phase of the game too. He has very much confirmed that he should be starting each match for Portugal from now on.
Joao Moutinho - 7
As is so often the case when Joao Moutinho turns out for Portugal, it was a composed display from the veteran midfielder against France, his experience a real positive impact on Portugal’s game after the team produced such a horror show in his absence versus Germany. I don’t think many would have expected him to start versus France, but Santos’ faith in him was repaid as he pulled the strings in midfield, drifting around and keeping the game ticking over, and did his job defensively very well too. Delivered a couple of good balls into the box as well, as was the case against Germany, his freekick delivery leading to Portugal’s second goal.
Bernardo Silva - 5.5
Bernardo has largely been quite ineffective for Portugal so far this tournament, not really leaving an impact against Hungary despite some good flair and skill on the ball, while against Germany, as pointed out previously, he had a bit of a defensive horror show, failing to help Nelson Semedo at all, which ultimately cost Portugal a couple of goals and caused them to fall to a 2-1 defecit at half time. Germany’s first was clearly avoidable had Bernardo Silva been tracking back to help Nelson, and he was nowhere to be seen for their second either. No surprise in hindsight, therefore, that Fernando Santos opted to bring him off at the break. He does, however, deserve credit and praise for his impeccable over the top ball into the path of Diogo Jota on the counter-attack which led to Portugal taking an early lead. It doesn’t excuse his lack of tracking back though. Then against France, he again had bursts of quality, but didn’t really show it consistently enough.
Rafa Silva - 7
His introduction against Hungary started pretty poorly, and many were questioning why Santos chose to turn to the Benfica man over Joao Felix. He was justly rewarded for it though, with Rafa proving to have a major impact on the match and playing a major role in helping Portugal battle to a crucial 3-0 win. He got the assist for Portugal’s opening goal, won the penalty for the second, and set up Ronaldo with some intricate play for the third. A very special match for the speedy winger.
Diogo Jota - 7.5
Jota spurned a couple of very good chances in the match against Hungary - and his failure to play in Cristiano Ronaldo early on, opting to shoot instead, is still a frustration. Had he played in Portugal’s talisman, who was in plenty of space and a much better position to convert, the game could have been much more straight-forward. He redeemed himself against Germany though, showing great composure in a one-on-one position to just lay the ball off to Cristiano Ronaldo, who tapped home into the empty net. He then grabbed a goal himself, latching onto a looping pass from Cristiano Ronaldo to have an even easier chance to convert on the goal-line. Wasn’t very involved in the attacking sense against France, but worked incredibly hard defensively for the side, which should be given the recognition it deserves.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 8
Cristiano Ronaldo doing Cristiano Ronaldo things as he already gets 5 goals to his name having only played the group stage. Two against Hungary, one against Germany and two against France - an incredible record for the Juventus veteran, who had his doubters heading into this competition. No doubt he has been instrumental to Portugal so far though. It’s fair to point out that three of those goals came from the penalty spot - but having seen so many penalties missed across the group stage in this competition, it clearly takes a special mindset to convert with such regularity, and Ronaldo never looked like failing to score from the spot. He did miss that sitter against Hungary in the opening game though, and was pretty ineffective - borderline poor - against France, but he came to life in the former, finishing off an incredibly stylish move at the end of the match to put Portugal 3-0 up, and did what he had to do against France, which is the mark of a sporting legend. A special campaign from the Special One of footballers.
Cameo appearance makers
Joao Palhinha, Ruben Neves, Sergio Oliveira, Andre Silva, Diogo Dalot
Special mention to Joao Palhinha for his spectacular double sliding tackle before nutmegging Paul Pogba and rampaging forwards. Delightful from the Sporting man.
Manager Fernando Santos - 7
Things were looking very awkward against Hungary, but Fernando Santos made good changes in the match, tweaking things to get more out of the team. Bringing on Rafa wouldn’t have been many people’s choice, but he was instrumental in Portugal getting the victory. He has his critics for the game against Germany though, and rightly so. Playing with William and Danilo in midfield was perfectly reasonable, but he did not change things quickly enough to stop Germany’s dominance when it became clear that that wasn’t working. However, he did clearly have a game plan to deal with Germany’s width, demanding his wingers to help defensively, but it was the individuals on the field, mainly Bernardo Silva, who let him down. Santos still deserves some criticism though. But against France he redeemed himself, bringing in Renato and Moutinho to allow for more control in midfield, which worked a treat.
