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It’s the semis and the 1st one is undoubtedly the juicier. It pits the Portuguese, led by their talisman captain Ronaldo against the Spanish armada led by the affable Iker Casillas. 90% (or maybe more) of the footballing world might be backing the Spaniards in this. But how could the Portuguese win?? Let’s see:
1. Ronaldo:
Yeah, I said it. Him. He is the star of the side. He will be under enormous pressure to deliver and I am sure he’ll be all fired up to get one over players he knows only so well. The Portuguese midfield trio of Moutinho, Meireles and Veloso must keep feeding him the ball. If the likes of Arbeloa and Busquets succeed in stifling him, the Portuguese shall suffer dramatically. Nani and Almeida need to work 5 times harder than before as it’s gonna be a tough night for them. If the team can successfully play around CR7, a victory would be much more likely.
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2. Defend like Crazy:
OK, that’s a given, to be honest. If you have to stop this Spain side, you got to defend like a madman. The Portuguese defense is a pretty good one but they will have to be on their toes if they are to keep the likes of Silva, Andres, and Cesc from scoring. Pepe and Coentrao play for Real Madrid and would be well aware of the intricacies of the tiki-taka.
3. Never give up:
Self belief is going to be the key here. Spain is known to keep 65-70 % possession. The Portuguese will need to harry the Spaniards. Mistakes will happen. Sustaining momentum is the key. Good decision making and acumen is the need of the hour. Trying to go solo when a teammate is much better placed to score is the recipe for disaster against Spain, who won’t give you a lot of chances to score. It’s important for the players to be smart in their tackling, running, shooting and passing. I can’t stress it enough.
We all can only say what comes to our minds, but at the end of the day it’s up to the players to go out there and do their nation proud. Defeating Spain isn’t an impossible task. They know so. Now they must translate that into a win.
