Quick Report: Czech Republic 1-3 Portugal

Note: If Turkey wins against Switzerland, then Portugal are also through.

The only scenario that raises the possibility of Portugal not qualifying (unlikely, but possible) is if Switzerland beats Turkey (followed by Switzerland beating Portugal *and* the Czechs beating Turkey *and* the goal differential working against Portugal).

Giorgio

What game were you watching? Portugal dominated the game. More shots more possession, etc. The is not one facet of the game where the Czechs were better. Look at the stats:

Czech Republic Portugal

1 Goals scored 3

1 Yellow card 1

0 Red card 0

2 Shots on goal 11

7 Shots wide 4

16 Fouls committed 15

6 Corners 6

0 Offsides 3

23' 51'' Ball. Poss. (time) 34' 50''

40% Ball. Poss. (%) 60%

Indsc4,

You are a clever boy (I assume you are one) and I agree with you 100%

Portugal dominated the scoreline. They finished their chances, and the Czechs did not. Portugal had many shots, but more of their shots were saved by Petr Cech. The Czechs had many chances and half-chances, but they aren't recorded in the statistics. For instance: a cross comes into the Portuguese penalty area. A Czech player meets the end of it wide and heads it back into the middle. Baros flashes by, but misses the ball, and Carvalho blasts it 65 yards up the field to safety. So, Baros had a chance on goal, but missed. It is no different than Ronaldo unleashing a screamer and having Cech make a fine save. Both are chances, but only the shot is recorded in the statistics, because the chance that Baros missed was not put on goal...but it was close.

Perception of a domination of a game also comes from a squad's preferred style of play, as well. Portugal is a possession side. They pass crisply and frequently, probing the defense for inside runs or quick combinations to open a quick shot. They executed both to success (Deco and Ronaldo goals). The Czechs prefer to play more directly, using the wings to work the ball down the field and cross into the middle for a striker. So, it looked as if the Portuguese dominated the match to those who value possession and crisp passing, because that is the byproduct of the way they play. They force a team to collapse defensively for relatively large portions of a match and defend against the plethora of passes they make. Some Czechs will probably say that they dominated the match because they got several dangerous crosses in that were dealt with haphazardly (though effectively) by the Portuguese defense. I personally saw an even game, as a whole, with the exception being Portugal scoring more goals than the Czechs...that's a pretty cold, hard fact.