Ireland vs Portugal - Review

By Niamh Maguire, published on 15/11/21

Cristiano Ronaldo

Overall performance

The captain was again the best player for his team but it wasn’t a vintage performance from him. He had some excellent chances, but the Irish defence kept him out. The crowd booed him in Dublin for some reason. He had an opportunity where he dribbled past the wing-backs and took a shot at the Goalkeeper but it was an easy save for Bazunu.

Stats

The stats are not good for Ronaldo, with him having only one shot on target and two off-target. He also had two shots blocked by the Irish defence. He attempted five dribbles but only had one successful dribble. He played two key passes and had fifty-one touches in the match.

Bruno Fernandes

Overall performance

Bruno played as part of a midfield three as the left of a midfield three with Nunes and João Palhinha. He didn't perform to his usual standards against an excellent Irish team. He made some great passes to his Man United teammate; he wasn't playing his natural position, which can explain his lacklustre performance.

Stats

Bruno's stats for the game show that it wasn't his best game, with him having fifty-four touches with one key pass. He played 37/41 (90%) accurate passes, and he played four successful long ball passes.

Diogo Dalot

Overall performance

He played ok with him lining up against Irelands Left Back Seamus Coleman. Diogo isn't the best defensively, but he had a good game attacking wise down the right-hand side. He did make one error that led to a chance for Ireland.

Stats

In this game, Diogo completed two clearances and one interception. He was dribbled past twice and won two out of four aerial duels. He accurately passed 88% of the time and completed two key passes.

Team's performance

Portugal did not play well against Ireland, with the team playing boring football with little to no creativity. Their only way to goal was Ronaldo, who had only a few good chances. Sliva was absent most of the game, with the Irish able to keep them out all game and to have a few good opportunities of their own. This wasn't a classic, but the Irish did themselves proud (not as proud as beating Germany in 15, though)