Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty as Portugal failed to convert once again in a scoreless draw with Austria in Paris.
The first half was reminiscent of Portugal’s previous against Iceland, as Fernando Santos’ side enjoyed the majority of possession and scoring chances. However, the Portuguese failed to capitalise on their dominance, with Nani and Ronaldo once again guilty of not making the most of their opportunities.
Austria enjoyed a chance either side of half-time, but the Portuguese were relentless in their pressure on the Austrian goal. Cristiano Ronaldo looked to inspire his side to a win, but saw himself twice denied by goalkeeper Robert Almer in the space of a minute.
It looked as though Austria would hand the victory to Portugal though after Martin Hinteregger brought down Ronaldo to concede a spot-kick. However, the Real Madrid man could not take advantage, striking the post to the disbelief of the Portuguese coaching staff.
Five minutes later the ball was in the net thanks to a header from Ronaldo, but the celebrations were quickly interrupted when the forward was correctly called offside.
Portugal would fail to create another good chance, condemning them to a second draw despite Austria’s lack of attacking threat. Now only a win against group-leaders Hungary will keep Portugal’s tournament alive, while Austria face a similar scenario against Iceland.
Portugal
Rui Patricio – 6: Not at all tested by the Austrian forward line in the first half, but was alert when called upon in the first minute of the second stanza.
Vieirinha – 6: Produced a great defensive header from Alaba’s dangerous free-kick just before half-time and kept Austria’s Marko Arnautovic quiet. Disappointing effort in attack though, rarely creating dangerous scenarios with his crosses.
Pepe – 6: Received a yellow card for scything down Alaba, but otherwise did, for a change, look like a relatively composed defender.
Ricardo Carvalho – 7: Easily the oldest player on the pitch at 38, Carvalho looked ten years younger in an assured performance in the heart of defence.
Raphael Guerreiro – 7: Fresh from announcing a move to Borussia Dortmund, Guerreiro gave supporters of the Bundesliga side a mouth-watering showcase of his ability. Composed in defence and lightning-quick in attack, the defender should have received an assist for a perfect cross to Ronaldo that was put wide of the goal.
William Carvalho – 6.5: The defensive midfielder shielded his central defenders well, often forcing the Austrian midfield, David Alaba in particular, to pass backwards rather than forwards when attempting to push through the defensive line.
Joao Moutinho – 6: Struggled to escape the attentions of Austria’s two holding midfielders, rarely creating dangerous chances from the middle of the park.
Andre Gomes – 5: After being his country’s best player against Iceland, Gomes went missing at the Parc de Princes. Withdrawn for Eder in the closing stages as Portugal pushed for a goal.
Ricardo Quaresma – 6.5: The Besiktas man was brought into the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the previous match against Iceland. Always eager to receive the ball and attack the penalty box, the 32-year-old gave Christian Fuchs plenty of problems in defence but was lacking in his final pass.
Nani – 5.5: Continuing up front after scoring in the opening match, Nani was perhaps unlucky not to find the net again after his header struck the post in the first half. Failed to build on his earlier work in the second period and eventually withdrawn.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 4: After a disappointing performance against Iceland, the Portuguese captain somehow sunk even lower against Austria. The 31-year-old missed two great chances in the first half, but forced two good saves from the goalkeeper at the start of the second stanza to signal a potential turnaround. It was not to be though, as the Real Madrid man failed to convert from the penalty spot before having a goal ruled out for being two metres offside.
Substitutes
Joao Mario – 5: Produced nothing of note in almost 20 minutes on the field.
Eder – N/A: Anonymous off the bench, barely got a touch of the ball.
Rafa Silva – N/A: Not enough time on the field to make an impact.
Austria
Robert Almer – 8: The Austria Wien goalkeeper did not inspire much confidence when playing out from the back with his feet, but his hands were glorious. In what was one of the stronger goalkeeping displays of the tournament, Almer denied Portugal several clear chances to preserve a clean sheet and keep his side’s hopes alive. Although he did not directly save the penalty, Portugal would have already been in the lead were it not for his efforts.
Florian Klein – 6.5: Did well to frustrate Ronaldo with some tight marking and relatively few mistakes.
Sebastian Prodl – 6: Coming into the starting side after Dragovic’s sending off against Hungary, Prodl was perhaps too eager to impress in the first half with some rash decision-making. The Watford defender improved in the second half to deny the Portuguese.
Martin Hinteregger – 5.5: Conceded the penalty for clearly holding back Ronaldo in the box, nearly undoing much of his good work in the first half.
Christian Fuchs – 5: Struggled to contain Ricardo Quaresma and was very disappointing in attack when given the chance to overlap.
Stefan Ilsanker – 6: Forced a save from Patricio with a low drive, but otherwise did not make an impactful contribution going forward. Protected his penalty area well with Baumgartlinger.
Julian Baumgartlinger – 6.5: May have conceded a few fouls for poorly-timed challenges, but anchored the midfield well and restricted the movements of Moutinho and Gomes.
Marcel Sabitzer – 5.5: After playing the last half an hour against Hungary, Sabitzer was handed a starting spot on the right after Marc Janko was displaced by Martin Harnik up front. Produced a dangerous early cross but nothing more.
David Alaba – 4: The Bayern Munich man was pushed further forward into the playmaker role after featuring as a holding midfielder against Hungary, but the change proved too much for the 23-year-old. Excluding a dangerous free-kick late in the first half, Alaba was thoroughly ineffective and was unsurprisingly replaced with 25 minutes to go.
Marko Arnautovic – 5.5: Austria’s most experienced attacking player went missing until the final ten minutes.
Martin Harnik – 6: The VfB Stuttgart man produced a combative performance in the forward line, using his aerial presence to trouble the Portuguese defenders, but could not find enough support from his teammates to threaten the goal.
Substitutes
Alessandro Schopf – 5: Replaced David Alaba in the 65 minute, only noteworthy contribution was a handball.
Lukas Hinterseer – N/A: Did not make an impact after coming on with five to go.
Kevin Wimmer – N/A: Added in the final minutes to shore up the defence.
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