Portugal vs. Argentina: Tactical Review of International Friendly

Portugal beat Argentina in one of the most tactically cautious friendlies of recent times on Tuesday evening, with left-back Raphael Guerreiro scoring the winner at the death.

Let's take a look at how this one played out.

Formations and XIs

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Argentina played in a free-flowing 4-3-3, with Lionel Messi off the right, Angel Di Maria off the left and a number of reserve options playing in defence. Cristian Ansaldi, Facundo Roncaglia, Lucas Biglia and Nicolas Otamendi were all given the chance to impress.

Portugal played a 4-4-2 diamond again, with Danny up front alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Andre Gomes loosely as a No. 10 and Nani as a flat (wide) central midfielder.

Dominant Argentina

The first 30 minutes, or perhaps even the first half entirely, was all Argentina. Gerardo Martino's men moved and switched positions superbly and probed Portugal's formation for weak points.

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They began by asking Di Maria to drift inside off the left flank, dragging markers away, to create room for Ansaldi to bomb forward from left-back. They then switched focus to the right side, pushing Messi and Roncaglia up against Portuguese debutant Tiago Gomes.

The right side proved more profitable, and Messi began drifting inward (same as Di Maria) to allow space for Roncaglia to run forward. His runs were sometimes used as a decoy for clever inter-play, freeing Messi or a spare runner in the box. Messi struck the near post using this method.

No Adjustment

As impressive as Roncaglia's runs and Messi's occupying of markers was, it's fair to say Portugal coach Fernando Santos invited the pressure. His 4-4-2 diamond, very effective in recent games as a pro-active formation that dictates play, fell to pieces here. It's a wonder he got to half-time 0-0.

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The big concern was how exposed the full-backs were; the diamond offered them absolutely no natural protection whatsoever. Gomes and Jose Bosingwa aren't exactly the strongest pair, and they were continually faced with two vs. one situations against a Di Maria/Ansaldi or Messi/Roncaglia combination.

When your flat central midfielders in the diamond are Nani (no defensive work ethic) and Tiago (distinct lack of mobility), you're going to have issues. An adjustment should have been made inside 10 minutes once the pattern was set. Again, it's a wonder the score was 0-0 at half-time.

Ditching the Diamond

Santos ditched the diamond at half-time, bringing on a slew of substitutes to correct the balance of the side. He switched to a flat 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 (with Joao Moutinho nominally an attacking midfielder), pushed Nani wide left, brought Ricardo Quaresma in on the right and placed Eder up front.

This, in conjunction with Argentina taking off Messi, resulted in nullification. Argentina lost their attacking verve and fear factor off the flank, and Nani dropped further back to try to help Gomes with the overloads. It sort of killed the game.

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Soon, though, youngster Raphael Guerreiro replaced Gomes at left-back due to injury, and Di Maria swapped with Nicolas Gaitan in order to attack the rookie's flank. Los Albiceleste found some joy, but it wasn't until Carlos Tevez replaced Gonzalo Higuain that some up-tempo spark entered the match again.

Without Messi, very few proper chances were created, though, and the match was decided by some bizarre, useless defending from Argentina at the death.

Quickfire Takeaways

• Messi may not have looked amazing in the first half, but Argentina were a lot worse without him.
• There is no explanation for the defending for the goal. We can only assume Roncaglia and Co. thought Bosingwa would not reach the ball for a cross; how else could they have just left Guerreiro free?
• Jose Fonte came on in the second half. He should be starting for Portugal.

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