Portugal's Stagnant Strategy Against Ireland

Did you know Portugal’s entire game plan fell apart because they never adapted? They came in with

one idea: keep the ball, use the full-backs for width, overload the wings,

and slowly break Ireland down with crosses and cutbacks. That works only if the opponent

opens up… but Ireland never did. Even after going 1–0 down, Portugal kept playing

the exact same way — slow buildup, wide circulation, patient passing, waiting for gaps

that just didn’t exist. No quick central combinations, no aggressive midfield

runs, no overloads in the middle, and no switch to a more direct striker

setup. Then Ronaldo’s red card made it even worse. The system became