Euro 2016: 5 Things we learned from Poland vs Portugal

Renato Sanches is the future of Portuguese football

It’s not every day you see an elite side pay a potential £63m for a bright prospect. I’ll openly admit I don’t watch the Portuguese league so wasn’t sure whether Renato Sanches was worth the hype or not. At Euro 2016 he’s gone a long way to proving he’s got the tools to succeed at the very top, even if his journey has just begun.

After impressing in his substitute appearances so far in the competition he was thrust into the starting XI against Poland and immediately added a bit of pace to a rather slow Portugal midfield. His drive, comfort on the ball and vision made him a crucial reference point for his teammates to pick out at every opportunity. He deserved that little bit of luck for his goal too. A bright prospect indeed.

Lewandowski arrives to the party - then leaves again

The lack of quality strikers at Euro 2016 has been alarming. No, wait, let me rephrase that. The lack of quality strikers is an issue but those that are in France have all failed to find any semblance of form. Some sides are limited by their options so are forced to field their best player as emergency strikers but that isn’t the case for Robert Lewandowski - yet he’s still suffered like everyone else.

When he scored the opening goal of the match I thought we’d see the Bayern frontman spark into life but he disappeared further and further out of the game. It was a common problem for him at this tournament and he’s been largely overshadowed by youngster Arkadiusz Milik. Poland needed more from him.

If it clearly doesn’t work, why play Cristiano as striker?

Cristiano Ronaldo has performed to a higher standard after Zinedine Zidane was appointed as Real Madrid manager back in January. It coincided with him being given back his natural left wing role and Gareth Bale being pushed over to the right. it allowed him to charge down the wing, cut inside to the space left by a forward dragging defenders away, and he could shoot. So why is he playing the lone striker role for Portugal?

Yes, he can play that role but I don’t buy into the theory that he has to. His influence is diminished as he’s often left isolated and when the ball does come to him, fearing it might take a while to get there again, he decides to selfishly shoot (more than usual). I’d rather he was left in his preferred position and someone else played the role of a false striker, told primarily to leave spaces in the middle for Cristiano to attack.

Poland were fast starters but later ended up running on empty

It’s been a wonderful experience for this Polish side at Euro 2016. They’ve got a good mix of raw power coupled with talent, but their lack of squad depth has caused them to burn out early in their last few matches.

A first half goal against Switzerland in the Last 16 was followed by a second half onslaught as Poland conceded late, then hung on for dear life in extra time. Penalties gave them the victory. Against Portugal it was very similar as an explosive opening 45 minutes were followed by a tired, lethargic second half. They didn’t look like scoring and it came down to penalties again. This time their luck didn’t hold out.

The loss of so many larger nations has given belief to the smaller ones

After a weird group stage that didn’t really do much apart from muddle the order of the next round of matches, it’s exactly that uncertainty which has given belief to the smaller nations. England and Spain’s respective failings meant one side of the draw was filled with the biggest names and gave others an easier route than expected.

There is a downside to this though as those who previously felt they had nothing to lose now believe they could actually win the whole thing - and thus could retreat into their shells. Portugal versus Poland was a prime example of this as both sides, while they’d have loved to get a winner, were also content to take their chances at penalties rather than leaving themselves open and going for broke on a late counterattack. Hopefully this trend doesn’t continue in the next three matches.