Rebooted Portugal Prepare to Make a Fashionably Late Entrance to Euro 2016

By the time Portugal begin their assault on Euro 2016 in Saint-Etienne on Tuesday evening, we’ll have seen what 22 of the 24 teams in France have to offer.

The 23rd, Portugal’s opponents Iceland, are perhaps the biggest unknown quantity in the tournament given their unlikely qualification and status as the smallest nation to ever appear at one of these events.

However, not being too well known is a distinction that they share with the team they’ll be lining up against at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard.

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You might think that is a bizarre thing to say about a team boasting Cristiano Ronaldo as well as players who have donned—or will soon be donning—the shirts of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Bayern Munich, but there is a real sense that this Portuguese vintage isn’t quite sure how good it is.

Unlike in previous tournaments in recent memory, there hasn’t been a rush to acclaim Fernando Santos’ side as one of the favourites this time, and that is simply down to the fact no one knows what to expect.

Qualification for this tournament was virtually assured once the Portuguese were placed in the weak, five-team Group I. They began with a shock home defeat to Albania but responded with seven straight victories—never by more than one goal.

The pre-tournament friendlies also failed to offer much by way of definitive proof of anything beyond Ronaldo’s effect on proceedings.

When the Real Madrid superstar plays, Portugal can look an exciting, attacking unit capable of finding the net from all angles, as they did in friendly wins over Norway and Estonia in which 10 goals were scored (Ronaldo only played in the latter, admittedly). When he doesn’t, such as in the dreary defeat to an unconvincing England at Wembley, then everything changes.

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And that, of course, is to be expected.

Such is Ronaldo’s influence on this team that it has become almost impossible to write the word Portugal without including his name in the same sentence. It has seemingly been forever thus, and it is part of his life as one of the two best footballers on the planet.

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Against Iceland, he’ll find himself tightly marked by different kinds of footballers—those who ply their trades at clubs such as Denmark’s Odense, Sweden’s Hammarby, AIK Solna and IFK Gothenburg, Serie B side Cesena and Charlton Athletic, the latter recently relegated to England’s third tier.

These are the differences that journalists and broadcasters are bound to highlight in the buildup to the clash in Saint-Etienne, but instead of focusing on that, it should be seen as a perfect chance for Portugal to make an impressive, if delayed, entrance.

Of course, there is Ronaldo, but their array of talented young players will bound in, unburdened by the tournament heartbreaks of the recent past.

Of the XI that looks likely to start against Iceland, only three of the 10 outfield players were involved in the Euro 2012 semi-final defeat to Spain on penalties, their third near miss in the last four European Championships.

And what of that XI?

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It’s not set in stone yet, but Santos seems to have settled on Pepe and Southampton’s Jose Fonte as his preferred centre-back partnership, with the rebirth of Ricardo Quaresma seemingly likely to have edged Nani out of the team further forward.

Either Danilo or William Carvalho will be trusted in the centre of midfield, and neither one will let Santos down. Joao Mario will probably start the game, but the exciting teenager Renato Sanches will be waiting in reserve.

Portugal are likely to have a lot of the ball against an Icelandic team that has already succeeded by the mere fact that they are in France. As we’ve seen already in this tournament from the likes of France, England and Poland—all of whom had to wait until the second half to turn dominance into a goal—patience is going to be key.

There might be no pressure on Portugal to win the tournament, but there certainly is to win the somewhat derided Group F.

Iceland, Austria and Hungary aren’t seen as the most taxing opposition, but that will only be true if a Portuguese team who are unsure of themselves start off by giving their supporters reasons to believe.

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Winning the match is all that matters for Portugal, and those that are expecting a goal-fest might be left disappointed.

We’ll know a bit more about this team come full-time in Saint-Etienne, at which point they might find themselves becoming the tournament’s talking point after finally making a late entrance.

But as Ronaldo would probably tell you, sometimes being fashionably late to a party can make you the envy of everybody there.