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Tighe’s 2014 World Cup Tactics Board: Analysing Paulo Bento’s Portugal
Published: December 12, 2013
Next up is Portugal, a team who scraped into the tournament proper courtesy of a European playoff victory over Sweden.
Qualifying
Qualifying was an absolute mess for Portugal, as they ended up finishing second in Group F behind Fabio Capello's Russia.
They managed to draw three games and lose one despite being placed alongside minnows Israel, Azerbaijan, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg, and had to come from behind to steal a last-minute 3-3 draw in Tel-Aviv to keep their hopes of a playoff alive at one stage.
They eventually came through a testing tie against Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden at the last hurdle, capping yet another campaign in which they squeezed into a major international tournament by the skin of their teeth.
Formation and Style
Manager Paulo Bento has been devoted to the 4-3-3 formation for several years now and used it throughout the qualifying campaign.
It served him well during Euro 2012 where he utilised what was essentially the prototypical, modern definition of the system, and it's geared toward offensive/defensive balance and speed in attack.
While utilising the 4-3-3, Miguel Veloso would play as the deepest midfielder—the anchor, although his skill set doesn't match up to the role—with Raul Meireles and Joao Moutinho buzzing around ahead of him.
Veloso's deep position allows the full-backs to bomb forward and overlap, clearing the path for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani to cut in off the flanks.
Heavy rotation at centre-forward has seen CR7 play with a number of target men, with Helder Postiga, Hugo Almeida and Nelson Oliveira all playing several games each.
The 4-3-3 worked l...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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