Did the problems around Portugal dissipate as Cristiano Ronaldo and company rained down five goals on Uzbekistan last time out? We might just find out as the European giants face off against already-qualified Colombia in Atlanta in the World Cup group stage.
It is hard to shake the sense that the answer might be no, that Ronaldo's brace did Portugal few long-term favors. Uzbekistan were simply not an opponent that can quell this mismatch of a team, once the floodgates opened in the sixth minute, there was no way of shutting them again. Having said that perhaps there will be qualities that Portugal showed in this routing win that, taken forward, could improve this team.
Roberto Martinez may have held firm over one veteran but removing Bernardo Silva and putting Joao Felix offered a bit more burst to an attack that could not quite tell what speed it wanted to move at. With Felix and Pedro Neto flanking Bruno Fernandes there was a marked upswing in the direct speed -- how many metres the ball was advanced towards goal per second -- with which Portugal attacked the Uzbek defense, their 1.19 a 22.7% upswing from their draw with Congo in the first match.
A very generous reading of this game might also suggest that they found ways to play around the gravitational force of Ronaldo. Nuno Mendes' free kick bent in on the goalkeeper's side was even more effective because everyone bar the PSG full back and his teammate seemed convinced that Ronaldo was going to try his old free kick routine. We might be really, really squinting here but the record goal scorer in men's international football as a decoy? It really did not happen in the opener against DR Congo, but that does not mean it couldn't in the future, Ronaldo really functioning as a pure poacher who positions himself to bring the best out of his teammates, that makes Portugal a contender.
We are just going to need to see that a lot, lot more. Do it against Colombia and perhaps something has changed for Portugal. However, given just how much experience we have had of the other Ronaldo, we need to see a lot more than one game before being sure that much has changed.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, June 27 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET Location: Hard Rock Stadium -- Miami Gardens, Florida TV: FOX (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free) Odds: Colombia +290 | Draw +260 | Portugal -118
Colombia vs. Portugal predicted lineups
Colombia: Camilo Vargas; Daniel Munoz, Davinson Sanchez, Jhon Lucumi, Johan Mojica; Gustavo Puerta, Jefferson Lerma, Jhon Arias; James Rodriguez, Luis Suarez, Luis Diaz
Portugal: Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Joao Neves; Pedro Neto, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix; Cristiano Ronaldo
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Colombia vs. Portugal pick, prediction
Portugal have all the talent they need as a team and should be able to assert their possession game on Colombia. One wonders, however, whether they might find their vulnerability at right full back exposed by rapid transitions aimed in the direction of Luis Diaz. Pick: Colombia 1, Portugal 1
Check out our World Cup expert predictions.
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