Portugal build on midfield platform

Portugal earned a deserved 2-0 win over Turkey in their opening match of UEFA EURO 2008™ and as a result became the early leaders of Group A.

Domination
It was a game which Portugal controlled, primarily because of the way their packed midfield was able to keep Turkey away from the danger zone. In fact, the defeated side ended the match with just a single shot on goal – from distance and of no real danger to goalkeeper Ricardo, who, apart from some long balls and corners, had nothing significant to deal with.

Possession count
Portugal dominated the play, as demonstrated by their greater share of possession. At the interval Portugal had 63 per cent of the ball and until they scored their first goal it was almost one-way traffic. Luiz Felipe Scolari's team were also the more disciplined, committing only ten fouls, four of them after the opening goal, against 23 from Turkey – an indication of the quality, as well as the quantity, of their possession.

Goal chances
Both goals arrived from unexpected sources, from players who had never previously scored for their country. And both were a reward for adventure and ambition in open play rather than any training-ground manoeuvre.
Turkey did not create a single goalscoring opportunity of note and only threatened occasionally from crosses. Conversely, Portugal had eight shots on goal, two thudding against the post – from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nuno Gomes – and another headed effort by Portugal's captain striking the crossbar.

Straying offside
Portugal's control of the match through their domination of possession was enhanced by the successful tactic of aiming long diagonal passes to their wingers, Ronaldo and Simão, most of which were completed. Turkey tried to use the offside trap, and in the first half they managed to catch Portugal six times.

Attack
Until the first goal Portugal were the more attack-minded team. In the first half alone they had seven corners – two of them short ones – against two from their opponents. It was only after going a goal down that Turkey won this particular contest, forcing three corners to none from Portugal.
In fact, Turkey appeared to be in the ascendancy after going behind, but they had little to show for their increased possession. Their passing game was relatively inefficient in the last third – a consequence of the intelligent zonal marking of Petit, João Moutinho and Deco.

Passing
A fundamental factor in Portugal's domination was the quality of passing from their two central midfielders – Petit with an 86 per cent completion rate and Moutinho with an even more impressive 89 per cent. Turkey had less quality in that area of the field, with skipper Emre Belözoğlu posting a 70 per cent success rate as Portugal's midfield stranglehold prevented him from making inroads in the attacking third of the field.

Not content
As Turkey chased the game in the final quarter of the match, Portugal proved dangerous on the counterattack. Not inclined to sit back and protect their one-goal lead, they continued to press forward, with Nani coming on for Nuno Gomes and joining his Manchester United FC team-mate Ronaldo in running repeatedly at the Turkey defence. It was one of those penetrating charges down the flank, from Ronaldo, that created Portugal's second goal and put the seal on a comprehensive victory.