“Roberto Martínez teams are almost invariably poor defensively, and he now has brought his magic to the Portugal attack,” fumes Gene Salorio. I think their setup has worked reasonably well, although they’ve lacked a cutting edge. Ronaldo really should have switched to a super-sub role by now, though – is he really going to start at the World Cup next summer?
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Germany v Portugal: Nations League semi-final – live | Nations League Key events Half time! Germany 0-0 PortugalAfter an uneventful minute of stoppage time, the players head to the tunnel. The best chance fell to Germany debutant Nick Woltemade, but Portugal had opportunities on the break, not least when Cristiano Ronaldo drew an early save from Ter Stegen. More soon. 44 mins: A first sigh of frustration from Wirtz as an attacking move falls apart. Germany have had the better of possession and put together far more passes, but have been tentative in the final third. 42 mins: Wirtz has been the quietest of Germany’s front three, but gets a shot away here from a tight angle that Costa claims comfortably. Fernandes is still struggling to walk off that ankle knock, while Mittelstadt is also down after the ball ricochets into his face. We restart with a drop ball. 40 mins: Kimmich is in the right place again to tidy up after Bruno Fernandes gets the ball ahead of Wirtz. Fernandes goes down, and replays show that Wirtz’ studs did roll over his opponent’s ankle, albeit accidentally. No free kick, but some extra spice for next season’s Liverpool-United derby, perhaps. 38 mins: Kimmich, who is dropping into midfield from right-back to dictate the play, swings an ambitious pass out towards Leroy Sané. I hope Pep Guardiola is watching this. 37 mins: A brief lull in what’s been a very entertaining first half, despite the lack of goals. 34 mins: Woltemade turns Ruben Neves and the midfielder concedes a free kick. The hosts try to work it down the left side through Mittelstadt, but he runs the ball out of play. 32 mins: Portugal are a real threat when they can get behind a fragile-looking German back three – and Neto does so here, but opts to run in on goal rather than cross to Ronaldo. Robin Koch times his interception perfectly to stop Neto getting a shot away, but Germany surely can’t keep leaving the door open like that. 30 mins: The tricky Pavlovic tries to squeeze a shot through a crowd of Portugal defenders, and almost finds a way before Inacio gets a foot to the ball. At the other end, Joao Neves picks out Koch’s poor pass forward, but can’t redirect it to a teammate; you can imagine Ronaldo’s reaction. 28 mins: João Neves tries to sweep the ball long to Trinçao, but it’s all out of goose and zips through to Ter Stegen. The Barcelona keeper is finally Germany’s clear No 1 after Manuel Neuer’s international retirement. “It’s somehow appropriate that CR7 is playing at the Allianz Arena when there’s speculation about him leaving Al-Nassr and playing in the Club World Cup,” writes Peter Oh. “Whatever he and his agent are selling, I’m sure someone out there will be Bayern.” 26 mins: From a Portugal corner, Neto swings the ball back across goal towards Dias, whose header is smartly intercepted by Kimmich. 24 mins: Portugal enjoy a spell of possession as they look to stop the pendulum swinging further in Germany’s direction. Ronaldo eventually gets on the ball on the edge of the area, but is crowded out. Still, every time he’s involved, half of this crowd get out of their seats – even the Germany fans. 22 mins: If Nick Woltemade is a new name to you, he’s making his Germany debut tonight after an impressive campaign with Stuttgart. He’s from the Peter Crouch school of forward play; a big man with a good touch, as demonstrated in creating that chance. 21 mins: Anton is there to meet it at the far post, but sends his header wide. 20 mins: Germany having the better of things now, pushing Portugal back into their own area – and Goretzka goes close again with a low effort that Costa does really well to turn behind. Another corner … 18 mins: Should this be a Germany penalty? Pavlovic plays a lovely one-two with Woltemade and goes down in the area. Play is waved on, and Woltemade’s shot is turned behind by Costa. Replays show Pavlovic went over a little easily; that’s not going to be overturned on review. 16 mins: Kimmich flicks the ball away from Silva and heaves in a deep cross which Portugal clear, before the visitors are awarded a free kick for a Wirtz foul on João Neves. 14 mins: Germany’s latest attack ends as Sané fouls Bruno Fernandes – and Portugal break again, João Neves stepping up from right-back and finding Ronaldo on the left. After a trademark stepover, his shot is deflected behind, but officials point for a goal kick, somewhat inexplicably. 13 mins: Germany’s 3-4-3 setup doesn’t really seem to be working early on – they look a little short at the back and in central midfield, and haven’t really been able to get their front three into the game. 12 mins: Neto again causes trouble in behind the back three, but Kimmich is covering and gets an arm in the back from the Portuguese winger. 10 mins: Pavlovic is picked off by Pedro Neto, who races from the edge of his own area into a shooting position, then fires a shot just over the bar. “Will Cristiano Ronaldo leave Al-Nassr at the end of the month and sign with Inter Miami?” asks Kurt Perleberg. As wild as that may sound, none other than Gianni Infantino himself has suggested Ronaldo wants to play in next month’s Club World Cup, which Al-Nassr failed to qualify for. Whether he ends up playing alongside Lionel Messi in the 305, we’ll have to wait and see. 6 mins: Neto gets more joy up against Germany’s back three, galloping into space and crossing for Ronaldo, whose first touch sets up a shot at goal … which is just too close to Ter Stegen. A decent opening for each side in the opening minutes. 4 mins: First opening for Germany as Kimmich, playing as a right wing-back, gets upfield to cut back a long ball to Goretzka, whose shot on the turn is straight at Diogo Costa. 3 mins: Andy Hinchcliffe is on co-comms, which is adding a Middlesbrough-v-Norwich-on-a-November-weeknight vibe to proceedings. No offence, Andy. 2 mins: Pedro Neto gets down the left and hooks in a cross that’s cleared behind for a corner. Ronaldo takes it, and Ruben Dias tries a header from 20 yards out that flies wide of the far post. Kick off!We’re under way 10 minutes late. Both teams are wearing different colour shirts and shorts – Germany white and black, Portugal red and green – giving the whole thing an old-school flavour. Correction: that heavy hail storm will cause a slight delay to kick-off; we’ll start at 8.10pm. The weather has eased and the venue looks packed to the rafters, with the Portugal ‘away end’ a sea of red and green flags. The Allianz Arena has been hit by a hailstorm just before kick off, although the weather isn’t causing any delays to the game. Ronaldo will earn his 219th cap tonight, and is seeking to extend his men’s world record of 136 international goals. The captain has already had to deal with an occupational hazard, as a young fan tried to run on to the pitch and greet him, only to be tackled decisively by stewards. Team newsGermany (3-4-3): Ter Stegen; Anton, Tah, Koch; Kimmich (c), Pavlovic, Goretzka, Mittelstädt; Sané, Wirtz, Woltemade. Portugal (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa; João Neves, Dias, Inácio, Nuno Mendes, Rúben Neves, Bernardo Silva; Trincão, Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto; Ronaldo (c). PreambleIf you can’t wait for the Club World Cup and Euro 2025 to fill your days, there’s another major tournament finale squeezed into football’s almost non-existent summer break. The men’s Nations League finals kick off in Germany, with the hosts seeking a trophy to somewhat atone for falling short at last year’s home Euros. They face Portugal in the semi-final in Munich, with France and Spain contesting the other semi in Stuttgart. It’s been an exciting run to the final four for both these teams; in the new two-legged quarter-finals, Germany squeezed past Italy 5-4 on aggregate, while Portugal were minutes from defeat to Denmark before winning 5-3 on aggregate in extra time. This is Germany’s first run to the final four; Portugal won the first finals back in 2019. Still, Julian Nagelsmann’s side start as favourites at the Allianz Arena tonight. Liverpool fans may be hoping to get a glimpse of Florian Wirtz in action tonight, with the hosts likely to field a strong line-up despite injuries to Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and others. The Portugal coach, Roberto Martínez, must decide whether to call on PSG heroes Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and João Neves, who lit up this very stadium four night ago. And will he start Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, up front? Readers, he probably will. Kick-off is at 8pm BST; team news and buildup to come. Source link Posted: 2025-06-04 21:11:39 |
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