Portugal beats Switzerland in debut in Montreux

There were no goals in the first 20 minutes, but the next 10 minutes were overwhelming. Paulo Freitas debuts with a big victory for the national team

Portugal entered the Montreux tournament in the best possible way, beating Switzerland 8-0 in Paulo Freitas’ debut at the helm of the National Team

The Portuguese team showed, early on, why they were the favorites to win this match, even though the coach had made some changes to the starting five. João Rodrigues and Gonçalo Alves started on the bench, giving way to Rafa Costa and Xavi Cardoso, debutants. The Portuguese speed was too great in the first two thirds of the field for Switzerland to be able to keep up and, especially in offensive transition, there were many situations in which the Portuguese team could have taken advantage of situations of numerical superiority to open the scoreboard. In the Swiss goal was Jean-Pierre Vizio who was, for 20 minutes, absolutely insurmountable.

Paulo Freitas asked for the timeout and the instructions took effect near halftime. Quick play, blocking and assistance from João Souto and Gonçalo Pinto, for the first time, scored for the Main Team. The marker was finally open.

Three minutes later, Dysli received a blue card, Gonçalo Alves missed the penalty but, in numerical superiority, Portugal reached 2-0 thanks to Xavi Cardoso, who also made his debut for the national team.

If, at the end of the first half, two players scored for their debut, the second half was time for the veterans to shine. First, it was Gonçalo Alves who scored his 160th goal for Portugal. Then, João Rodrigues appeared to score his 182nd goal. Nuno Santos also scored in the second half, as did Hélder Nunes, but Alves and Rodrigues, both with another goal and an assist, were the stars of this second half which, apart from the overwhelming Portuguese offensive flow, there is nothing to tell.

Switzerland’s physical and mental breakdown was evident after the two quick goals from the corner team and, despite being wide, the advantage was more than fair. João Rodrigues argues that «Portugal started the game very well, but there was a lot of quality from Switzerland’s goalkeeper», in a game that, says Paulo Freitas, «there was a lot of commitment on everyone’s part». «I am very satisfied with everything we produced and a little surprised with all the quality presented», concluded the coach.

This Thursday, Portugal plays again, this time, against France.