Why Portugal Can Take Positives from Loss to England in Euro 2016 Warm-Up

As everyone plots their way through what might happen at UEFA Euro 2016, there has been a tendency to overlook Portugal’s Group F. Take out Cristiano Ronaldo, and it doesn’t look very glamorous.

Iceland, Austria and Hungary will be the opponents for a country not quite considered among the favourites for glory in France.

Although they lost 1-0 against England in their pre-tournament friendly at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, there was enough in the performance to suggest they should be taken fairly seriously over the next month.

ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images

In the match, Bruno Alves’ 35th-minute red card for almost decapitating Harry Kane contributed to a diluted display from a Ronaldo-less visiting side, who held out well against a disjointed England until Chris Smalling headed the winner with just four minutes left.

But manager Fernando Santos shouldn't take the 1-0 defeat to heart.

Playing with 10 men against a side of England’s quality must have been tough. But it should have given Santos the chance to see his squad put through the wringer in a way not normally associated with friendlies.

Closing down. Harassing the opposition. Keeping their shape. It was all evident from a visiting side that didn’t have its superstar captain around to save them.

This was as good a defensive drill as Santos could have wished for. The prevailing thought for him must be that this was a good dress rehearsal for what might happen when his side makes it out of the group stage and comes up against one of Europe’s big hitters in the knockout rounds.

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Granted, Alves hasn’t done himself any favours—Jose Fonte should surpass him as first-choice central defender—but there were a couple of stellar displays elsewhere on the pitch.

Ricardo Carvalho, 38, performed well in the other central defensive position, capable of dropping off and not diving into challenges in the ridiculous manner that Alves did.

Always a fine reader of the game—and never a player who has needed to rely on pace—Carvalho nullified the threat of an admittedly malfunctioning English attack, in which Wayne Rooney, Jamie Vardy and Kane all seemed to alternate roles and specialised in maximum effort for minimal reward.

Dan Mullan/Getty Images

This wasn’t quite the Carvalho that English fans were used to seeing at Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, but the centre-back was cool and calm. He didn’t let the pace of the English players worry him as he was always in the right place at the right time to nip in and take the ball ahead of them.

His was the sort of display that bodes well for the weeks ahead. And with none of Portugal’s group opponents likely to force the issue against Santos’ side, you can expect Carvalho to drop back into space and play his own game from there.

Ahead of him, Porto midfielder Danilo Pereira made a compelling case to start ahead of his much more vaunted colleague William Carvalho in the centre of midfield.

Perhaps benefiting from playing against England’s confusing and complicated shape, Pereira was sharp in challenges, economical in possession and generally very impressive on an evening where systems were more of a talking point than superstars.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

It might be that Pereira—who won just his 11th cap at the end of his first season with Porto—isn’t considered all that vital in Portugal’s group stage matches against beatable opponents. But once they come up against Euro 2016 heavyweights, he could prove to be a better fit.

Add this match to the list of impressive cameos from Renato Sanches and Ricardo Quaresma and you’ve got one of the more rewarding 1-0 defeats Portugal could ask for. And more clues as to their Euro 2016 destiny could come Wednesday, just two days before the tournament begins, when they play against Estonia in Lisbon.

How things will turn out for Santos and his men remains to be seen, but they can take solace in the knowledge that they are a different team when Ronaldo plays. After remembering this, they can be satisfied with their defensive work at Wembley.

The onus falls on the attack next week.