One Manchester City player came in for high praise last night for his latest performance at Euro 2024.
Portugal took on Slovenia in Frankfurt and won the game on penalties, after a top defensive effort from Slovenia to keep out their opponents.
Slovenia had previously shown their spirit and organisation against England in the group stages, and they proved very tough to break down against Portugal.
They might well have caused a huge upset had Benjamin Sesko been a bit more clinical. The striker had two big chances in the game, but was thwarted by Diogo Costa.
After Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in extra-time, the game went to a shootout and Costa was the hero, making three saves. Portugal scored all three of theirs. Bernardo Silva scored the winning penalty, and then slammed the pitch after the game.
There was another start for Joao Cancelo on the right for Portugal – and the City player came in for praise from one outlet after the game.
Man City full-back Joao Cancelo impresses for Portugal against Slovenia
Cancelo didn’t have the best of outings recently for Portugal against the Czech Republic, but he was much better here.
The 30-year-old was one of Portugal’s best players on the night, and seemed to have a lot of energy down the right side. He pushed up high, and managed to put in a number of crosses.
Cancelo was also quite industrious. He contested a whopping 24 duels last night, winning 13 of them according to Sofascore. He also completed 10 defensive actions (five clearances, one interception and four tackles).
PortuGOAL – an English-speaking outlet that follows the national team extensively – were left particularly impressed by Cancelo’s performance.
They gave him an 8/10 for his display. Only goalkeeper Costa (10/10) and Nuno Mendes (8.5/10) were rated higher. They said: “Cancelo was relatively quiet in a first half which saw him again drifting into central areas while supplying the occasional cross.
“After the break he was Portugal’s biggest threat by far, holding a more straightforward wide role and creating huge problems for Slovenia, particularly with a brilliant run which led to a chance for Bernardo Silva.
“Once again there were one or two defensive problems, as well as a lax touch which almost let Slovenia in during extra time, but Cancelo was impressive on the ball. His role against France will be an intriguing subject to ponder.”
Cancelo remains a top attacking full-back
- READ MORE: Arsenal could yet be potential bidders for ‘world class’ Man City defender currently at Euro 2024
Cancelo was undoubtedly one of Portugal’s better players last night during a fairly poor collective performance.
There is little doubt about his quality going forward. Cancelo – who cost City £60 million – has always been technically really solid, and he is also pretty quick. Traits like this do allow him to get into promising areas.
But there are still question marks over the defensive side of his game and with the player now being 30, they will probably always be there.
City would like to hope that performances like last night would be good for raising his market value. But at the moment, the only club that seems interested in him are Barcelona, who can’t afford to buy him permanently.
