Spain were the better side for more of the game. Portugal's gameplan worked pretty well but they started to tire and it showed. Spain didn't score in open play though....i already said that they are not quite as cutting and clinical as they were a few years ago. They do miss Villa's finishing. They were more ambitious when it came to the end of the game, trying to win it.
So in the end the right team reached the final but they will still have to do better to beat the Germans who i fancy to attack Spain and score. If Germany dispose of Italy tomorrow which i feel they should, they might even go down as slight favourites for me in the final.
They seem able to play in many styles and just find the result. Much as they did against Portugal in the group stage. It'll be superb to see the Germans have a go at this Spanish side.
Lol Negative! Spain only started to really do anything towards the end of the second half and extra time. Don't know why Bruno shot instead of Ronaldo. I'm sure he's pissed. Where did all these defenders with nice shots come from?? Pepe, Pique, Ramos (where was that shot during the Bayern penalties!).
well bruno was only #4, they cant really change the order once they make it, and the 5th penalty is just as important(assuming you make it that far) which is why they left it to Ronaldo
Portugal managed to disrupt Spain for the first half- but did not capitalise on that. In fact they wasted vast amounts of attacks by shooting from impossible angles and distances. You cannot waste the freekicks like they did, you cannot shoot from stupid angles which they did countless times instead of checking and crossing.
Spain managed to keep Ronaldo out to the left. The major threat. He has clearly been much more effective inside, and centre. This ensured he did not have a great game.
In the second half these things continued, but by then Spain had adapted and started to really dominate by the end of the 90 minutes. They dominated Portugal by the end of 90, and through the 30 of extra time in a manner that Portugal never dominated Spain at any point in the game.
Indeed, in extra time, Portugal were scrambling about and seemed to be hanging on for penalties with the odd poor counter attack that was rushed and broke up quickly. Spain also had the best chances of the game- Xavi and then Iniesta.
When it came to the real crunch, when it mattered most, Spain attacked in ET and tried to win the game. Portugal couldn't.
But then besides all this, the penalties alone Spain deserved it. Portugal were criminally bad in the shootout. For one leaving one of the best players and kick takers in the world til the 5th kick. Two for not being organised enough with Alves. That was surely a psychological blow to him what happened. You could feel his nerves when he finally took it and even the Spanish team looked like they knew he would miss.
Your best takers should ALWAYS ALWAYS go first. Its frickin common sense because tonnes of shootouts are over before then. You hope your best takers will score, and reduce the pressure on the later takers. If you save your better takers til later, then you can either waste them, or are just showing how you expect to be losing the shootout. Its the wrong message to send.
Portugal have really proven me wrong this tournament. I didn't think they were able to compete against the elite but they've played well enough to be considered top 4 or 5 in the world.
I think Portugal showed an edge over Spain in the first half, but progressively they grew tired. Spain was good in the midfield but just couldn't finish up front. In the end, they deserved the win, and I'm glad to see the better team win.
Now Portugal lost now see the haters of Ronaldo are happy and they think that messi will win his fourth ballon dor and they say that Ronaldo was scared to shoot a penalty!! I hate those people I support Spain but I want to Portugal to win just for Ronaldo
go see the comments about Ronaldo on goal.com OMG are people that stupid
Sad result. IMO Portugal were the better team in the 90 mins and just grew tired. The team was really lacking in terms of accurate passes. Pathetitc passing at time, it was an absolute joke the penalty kick by the 4th Portuguese players (cant remember how to spell his name). Ronaldo, should have gone first after the keeper kept the ball out. The Spanish movr on but barely, seriously cannot stand listening to stupid haters who have nothing better to do but gloat at Portugal and jump in the Spanish bangwagon.
Still very good match till then. Sad way for the Portuguese to go out but thats football.
EDIT: In all seriousness what game were you ppl watching spain the better team for most the match???!??? You must be kidding, Portugal had the edge first half, it was a stalemate 2nd half with only both teams having 1 shot on goal. And for the last 30 mins spain started to show up. Based on that spain is the better team????? Hahahahaha okay sure whatever. The spanish move on but barely, Portugal played a greay match and stopped the spanish from having the huge ball possession and being comfortable for 90+ mins yeah they couldn't seal the deal at the end but come on.
After this I see Germany or Italy finding a way to put away the spanish. Gotta love the commentators here in england how they always say "ohhhh spain hasnt played well, they havent shown up". Without giving opposing countries there deserved compliment for upping their game.
Ok I'll bite, it seems there's a lot of people here on the defensive about Portugal's loss, maybe because Ronaldo didn't score or whatever. Before I respond, I will say he played one hell of a tournament, that kid was visible on the pitch left and right. Now on who deserved the game more, Portugal showed an edge over Spain in the first half, yes, they were more precise up front, and surprisingly gave them trouble in the midfield. However, in the second half and into the extra minutes, I think Spain had the edge.
They had about 2-3 chances to score and just had bad finishing. In fact, Arbeloa missed a good shot in the first half. Iniesta had a clear shot at goal but Portugal's goalkeeper was great at defending his net. Then when Pedro came in it seemed like they had more power up front. Portugal got tired, Spain took over, both teams had their chances at goal, I think they are the better team based on their midfield, defense, and the titles they carry on their backs.
Im not going to give you some scolding or something that stupid. Just dont like ppl saying "ronaldo is a choke artist blah blah he cant score goals" he did play a great euro, but for the getting the ballon d'or ir just isnt good enough if he doesnt win the tournament.
I think Portugal were the better team because of the fact that they took spain out of their game for 90 mins. Either way the Portuguese are in desperate need for a good midfielder. Someone that can feed the ball accurately to the strikers. I can see this team making it far in the WC2014
I already saw a headline at Times I think where they say "Where was Ronaldo"? I find it funny that these players play their hearts out on the pitch and they get so much BS from the media. Whether he deserves the ballon de oro or not is practically up to opinion though, so I won't go there, but I can see why you would say Portugal was the better team, they played a great match and tourney.
was sad to see Portugal go out. the first team in the tournament so far that weren't owned by Spain. Spain couldn't play there "1000 pass" game. Portugal were just unlucky in the penalty shootout.
i guess now thats the end of Ronaldos Ballon d'Or hopes.
in order to win the Ballon d'Or award CR7 has to
1)Win a trophy in all competitions he competes in
2)Has to be top goal scorer in all competitions he competes in
Messi has to do ONE of the following
1) outscore CR7
2) win a trophy.
I think you need to take into account that the Ballon de oro is a very complex award. I think they keep giving the award to Messi because he's a more complete player, so when the credit they both have is about the same, they'll give it to Messi.
il be honest, i don't think Messi is a complete player. if he was he'd be able to adapt and shine for both club and country like Ronaldo does. but he doesn't. also, if you look at the way CR7 plays for Portugal, its my less flashy and selfish due to the fact that he is captain and leading by example so the team don't follow him and play selfish themselves.
Messi is a great player. im not knocking him in any way and he fully deserved the award when he won it before but i just think there is nothing more CR7 has to do to win that award. if CR7 doesn't win it that award this time round it is merely a handout and will lose all credibility.
Why is everyone saying Germany are going to hammer Italy? Italy are playing really well too and their goalkeeper, centre backs and centre midfield are all Juve players who only lost ONE game last season. Pirlo was outstanding against England. I'm sad to see Portugal go out, Alves never looked confident taking that penalty, where was Ronaldo? I'm finding the Spanish are getting boring to watch. They always cut back inside and now they don't even play with strikers it seems ;)
Portugal was sucessful in neutralizing Spain's gameplan...but that's it. It never had clear chances of goal, Spain had atleast a hanfull of them (mostly in extra time).
I'm Portuguese but I think Portugal was very bad offensive wise. We outplayed Spain in the midfield (well, until Fabregas and Pedro came) but we never really scared Spain near their goal. Ronaldo was not decisive (he disappeared in extra time), Almeida was a 0, Oliveira a -1 and Nani was supporting the midfield instead of trying to go to goal.
If Spain had Villa, the game would be exactly like in the last WC. The only flaw of this Spain is not having a guy that's just there to score. Pedro is very good, but it's not a Villa. Torres is miserable. Llorente needs to play more. And Negredo is horrible.
In the PK, Ronaldo should've scored the 4th one just like Pirlo did with Italy. It would gave them confidence and mental strenght if their best player and leader scored. But no, Bento puts defenses scoring penalties. Ramos penalty was genius because everyone was expecting him to fail, and that gave an enourmous boost to the team's confidence.
Proud to be Portuguese.They really made us proud, and it came down to penalties... 2 centimiters lower and Bruno Alves's penalty would have been perfect, a few centimeters to the left, and Fabregas's penalty would have been stopped by the post. Each time we get eliminated, it's always plays down to little details :(... offside goal in 2010, ballack pushing the keeper to score in 2008, penalty in 2006 and 2000.... Anyways, it's rare to see a small country with so much talent, people often forget about thatf fact, and rarely do we see players play with such pride. OBRIGADO PORTUGAL!
In the end Spain deserved it and Bruno Alves shouldnt have scored a penalty. Too nervous.
Portugal got a better ball possession than Spain... thats rare.
Another Germany vs Spain final
Going to be an amazing match both sides fantastic.
I feel bad for Portugal they have played really well this tournament and Bento is a good coach, but Spain definitely deserved to win today.
Don't know why Ronaldo didn't want to take a penalty, usually he is confident enough to take the first one.
I think Portugal showed an edge over Spain in the first half, but progressively they grew tired. Spain was good in the midfield but just couldn't finish up front. In the end, they deserved the win, and I'm glad to see the better team win.
Now Portugal lost now see the haters of Ronaldo are happy and they think that messi will win his fourth ballon dor and they say that Ronaldo was scared to shoot a penalty!! I hate those people I support Spain but I want to Portugal to win just for Ronaldo
go see the comments about Ronaldo on goal.com OMG are people that stupid
Sad result. IMO Portugal were the better team in the 90 mins and just grew tired. The team was really lacking in terms of accurate passes. Pathetitc passing at time, it was an absolute joke the penalty kick by the 4th Portuguese players (cant remember how to spell his name). Ronaldo, should have gone first after the keeper kept the ball out. The Spanish movr on but barely, seriously cannot stand listening to stupid haters who have nothing better to do but gloat at Portugal and jump in the Spanish bangwagon.
Still very good match till then. Sad way for the Portuguese to go out but thats football.
EDIT: In all seriousness what game were you ppl watching spain the better team for most the match???!??? You must be kidding, Portugal had the edge first half, it was a stalemate 2nd half with only both teams having 1 shot on goal. And for the last 30 mins spain started to show up. Based on that spain is the better team????? Hahahahaha okay sure whatever. The spanish move on but barely, Portugal played a greay match and stopped the spanish from having the huge ball possession and being comfortable for 90+ mins yeah they couldn't seal the deal at the end but come on.
After this I see Germany or Italy finding a way to put away the spanish. Gotta love the commentators here in england how they always say "ohhhh spain hasnt played well, they havent shown up". Without giving opposing countries there deserved compliment for upping their game.