In a game with uncertainty in the outcome until the end, and after winning with a two-goal advantage, Portugal ended up giving in in the final moments, in a match in which set pieces were decisive.
The Portuguese team entered with speed and danger, coming out very quickly to attack, while the French tried to lower the pace imposed by Paulo Freitas’ men, with both teams «forcing» Chambel and Girão to say «present» in the game. Carlo di Benedetto opened the scoring with a direct free kick, following the blue shown to João Rodrigues, in the 17th minute (1-0).
The team coached by Nuno Lopes cheered with the goal, but Portugal persisted on the way to the goal although without being able to finish, until the 13th minute, when Rémi Hérman saw the blue for a foul on the table on Hélder Nunes. Called upon to convert, Gonçalo Alves shot into the back of the French goal and restored the tie (1-1).
Four minutes after the equalizer, Roberto di Benedetto committed a penalty foul. Again Gonçalo Alves, did not score from the kick, but scored from the reload, with a «pick» in the lower area of the right post (1-2).
From here onwards, the Gauls looked for a 1 to 1 in an attempt to unbalance, but the selection on the corners did not slow down and went looking for the third, creating many difficulties for Pedro Chambel, but he was denied the goal, with the result remaining the same. unchanged at halftime.
At half-time, the national team was winning 1-2 | ©Catarina Maria | FPP
In the first minute of the second half, France equalized the match with a free kick for the 10th foul given to Portugal (2-2). With the score tied again, the corner team persisted and took the lead again, in the 22nd minute: Gonçalo Pinto in the area managed to take advantage of a reduced space to steal the ball from the opponent and finish for 2-3. In the same minute it was França’s turn to commit the 10th foul, but this time Gonçalo Alves shot wide. In the next minute, another set piece by blue was shown to Carlo di Benedetto with Chambel denying Hélder Nunes the goal.
Still in powerplay, Portugal reached a two-goal lead in a play that started with Gonçalo Alves behind the French goal, putting in João Rodrigues and him assisting Hélder Nunes, who made it 2-4 (Minute 20).
Skating behind the deficit, the French moved up the lines and created more attacking volume and, in just over a minute, scored three goals, putting themselves ahead on the scoreboard: first Roberto di Benedetto shot hard from the central zone and surprised Girão (3-4), then for the 15th Portuguese foul, Carlo di Benedetto equalized (4-4) and, in the same minute, a defensive mistake by Portugal resulted in 5-4.
Portugal did not give up and scored in the next minute with a «shot» from mid-range by Hélder Nunes (5-5), but with 16 seconds remaining in the match, the 15th foul was awarded to Portugal, whose direct free kick France converted in the final 6-5.
At the end of the match, the national coach, Paulo Freitas, confessed that the team was prepared «to have another type of result, but what is a fact is that the game was played out this way. Regarding the competitive attitude that my athletes had on the track, I have nothing to say».
Gonçalo Alves and Hélder Nunes scored twice in the match | ©Catarina Maria | FPP
Freitas explained that «we are going to draw a lot of lessons and have to correct some things because winning by two goals difference we have to have a different clarity on the track» and considered that it was a game that ended «by being decided a lot on set pieces by one side. of the French team». “In the early part of the match we created a lot, but we were ineffective against the goalkeeper who had a very positive performance,” he said.
For tomorrow’s game, against the Spanish team, Paulo Freitas hopes that the team has «the ability, in this short period of time, to recover physically and that we can then correct what today we were unable to do well on the track and tomorrow we will be here to fight for victory».
Gonçalo Alves considered that «it was a good roller hockey game» in which «both teams wanted to win the match». «We scored five goals, we had many good moments in the game and some moments when we were below what we have to do. We have to look at what we did wrong, also look at what we did well and return tomorrow with the same desire and ambition. We have a game tomorrow to be in the semi-finals of the Nations Cup and that’s what we’re looking for”, he concluded.
This Friday the national team plays the last game of the Group Stage, against the Spanish team, at 8 pm. Watch ELEVEN games on DAZN and check all the results and game sheets here.
