Germany took a great step forward to move into the next round after they beat Portugal 1-0. Now this has helped them a lot and Portugal now find themselves in a precarious situation in next two matches and would have to play some good football if they want to move forward in the tournament. Along with Germany, Netherlands and Denmark, Portugal has been placed in group of death and with Netherlands losing their first match, expect the Dutch to play some tough football in their coming matches which makes their job to qualify in the next round even more difficult.

The match had some good and bad performances which shaped the course of the match. Here are some of the hits and flops of the match:

Germany:

Hits:

Mario Gomez: He was looking subdued for most of the time and was well guarded by the Portuguese defence. He was looking sharp and did not get the kind of opportunities he should have got, but one chance that he got he scored the winning goal for the team. In the coming matches, provided he is served well by his mid-fielders, Gomez can run riot in the middle and very well emerge as one of the best players of the tournament.

Mats Hummels: He had a good season with German champions Borrusia Dortmund and he continued that in the opening match of the EURO as well. It was due to this centre back that Portugal were not able to make any clear inroads and he did clear a lot of crosses which otherwise could have created problem for the team.

Flops:

Thomas Mueller: He had a wonderful 2010 FIFA World cup and carried that form on to his club Bayern Munich. After a good season with Munich, he was expected to be a major force but yesterday he flattered to deceive. He received a lot of passes but could never create any inroad and also never could give his team the spark that they were looking for.

Portugal:

Hits:

Fabio Coentrao: He was the best player of the team. The centre back kept his man Mueller at bay and not only that, it was Coentrao who made occasional runs and kept on looking to make inroads to keep Portugal in hunt.

Flops:

Christiano Ronaldo: The biggest name in the World football, and after a great season with Real Madrid, it was seen as though he would be the man to watch for in the tournament. But he looked like an average and the belief that he is a player who plays well for the club than country was consolidated further. He was off touch and lacked the spark that he usually has when he is in Real Madrid’s colour.

Nani: The Manchester United winger who is known for his crosses from the left was seen wanting on almost every occasion. His passing was horrendous, was seen dribbling too much and he was a reason as to why Portugal could not keep the possession.



Indian Sports News Network