The masterful performance of Tadic, the decisive entry of Mitrovic, the weakness of the Portuguese, find our tops and flops of the decisive victory of Serbia in Portugal as part of the qualifications for the 2022 World Cup.
Tops
The paid coaching of Dragan Stojkovic
At half-time, Serbia holds Portugal in check (1-1). Back in the game thanks to the equalizer of Dusan Tadic, the Serbs have generally mastered this first act without reaching their goal. Second in group A, Dragan Stojkovic’s proteges are doomed to win to qualify directly for the 2022 World Cup. Aware of the stakes, the Serbian coach will make a change turned towards the offensive by bringing in Mitrovic to Gudelj’s place. In the 83rd minute of play, the Fulham striker stands out and catches a ball on a Kostic cross but his attempt goes off target. In the 90th minute, Mitrovic won’t miss a second chance. On a cross from Tadic, the attacker, free of any marking, strikes a powerful header that deceives the vigilance of Rui Patricio. A decisive goal that sends Serbia to the 2022 World Cup.
Dusan Tadic, the conductor
Dusan Tadic was in all the good shots of his team at the Estadio Da Luz. Positioned in support of Vlahovic, the playing master displayed all his technical class on the green rectangle. In the first half, the Ajax Amsterdam playmaker revived Serbia by putting the teams on a level playing field. Author of a fake strike on Moutinho, Tadic scored the first goal of his selection, well helped by a hand fault from Rui Patricio. At the very end of the game, the number 10 distilled an assist on Mitrovic’s decisive goal. A high level performance for the Serbian captain, involved in the two achievements of Serbia.
And immediatelyWorld Cup 2022: crucified by Serbia, Portugal will go through the dams
Flops
The collective bankruptcy of Portugal
Portugal were overtaken in many areas of play during this meeting. Despite Renato Sanches’ quick opener, the Portuguese had the worst difficulty in the world to threaten in front of Rajkovic’s goal and get their foot on the ball. In the presence of many world-class individuals, the Portugal of Fernando Santos does not exude collective strength. Lacks in the game that cost Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammates qualification for the 2022 World Cup on the last day of Group A. The play-offs will not be a piece of cake.
Rui Patricio, a struggling executive
Imperial at Euro 2016, Rui Patricio is an indelible element of the Portuguese selection. This Sunday, the Roma goalkeeper had an extremely complicated evening. On a little dangerous strike from Tadic, Rui Patricio was guilty of a gross hand fault which allowed the Serbs to reset the counters to equality. At the end of the meeting, the Portuguese goalkeeper lacked authority in his intervention to push back the angry head of Mitrovic. Involved on the two goals of his team, the goalkeeper with 102 caps with Portugal delivered a mixed performance.
End of series against Serbia
Before this game, Portugal was Serbia’s pet peeve. In their last seven encounters, Serbia haven’t won a single game. The Portuguese had a positive record with three wins and four draws. Held in check in March 2021 in Serbia (2-2), Portugal finally gave in this Sunday in Lisbon (1-2).
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