Portugal Should Enjoy Euro 2016 Win, but 2018 World Cup Qualifiers Will Be Tough

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 13, 2016

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The red and green ticker tape has long since been picked up from the grass of the Stade de France and the streets of Lisbon, and so what now for Portugal?

Well, in short, rest.

Whatever your opinion of this Portugal team and their performances in winning Euro 2016, you can’t deny that the effort they put into winning the tournament means Fernando Santos’ men deserve a well-earned break over the next few weeks.

From Real Madrid to Southampton to Lille, whichever clubs these players belong to can’t expect to see them back quickly, and nor should they.



Santos deserves a bit of downtime, too. Even the grizzled, somewhat dour coach was reduced to jigging in delight once Eder fired that unstoppable and unexpected winner past Hugo Lloris in extra time. It was most out of character for a man who had barely smiled in the six matches before the final.

As you’ll have read elsewhere by now, his and Portugal’s triumph was one of organisation over inspiration, as a country traditionally renowned for producing creative, attacking forces achieved their finest hour thanks to much more rudimentary means.

Yet now they are European champions, they will become fresh meat for others to hunt, starting when the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers get under way in September.

There, Portugal have been placed in Group B, alongside Switzerland, Euro 2016 opponents Hungary, Latvia, Faroe Islands and Andorra. It's a fairly kind group on paper and one that doesn’t look to be providing too many obstacles on Portugal’s route to Russia in two years’ time.



But while qualification is more than achievable, Santos would be right to strike a note of caution with his players as they prepare for the battles ahead.

As the tournament they’ve just won has shown, the gap between the haves and the have-nots in international fo...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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