Portugal defeated Turkey 2-0 on the first day of Eurocup 2008 thanks to their creative attack and strong, cohesive defense. Cristiano Ronaldo was held to very little possession throughout the entire game, especially in the first 45 minutes. Turkey played Portugal strong for the first 28 minutes when a Simao free kick that sailed just over the cross bar seemed to turn the game into the hands of Portugal.
The Simao free kick was a concerning event for Turkey and Portugal as well, as Simao chose to push Ronaldo off the ball as he was setting up for the kick. Not much fuss was made by Ronaldo as Simao nearly missed the upper left corner of the goal, but free kicks were quickly changed to Ronaldo in the 38th minute.
Ronaldo sent a bouncing screamer from just outside the 18 yard box, but was just saved by the Turkish keeper, and sent away after it hit the far upright. It was the best chance Portugal had in the first half, and it was easy to see that a message was sent out to the field that Ronaldo would be taking free kicks, as he was the lone man around the ball.
Turkey held well on defense for the first 30 minutes, but looked stretched and tired for the rest of the half. The Turkish attack was awkward and forced throughout the games as the midfield fumbled around with the ball as if they were amateurs. The lack of focus that was portrayed by the midfield disrupted many of the few offensive pushes made by Turkey.
Portugal played their game in the second half, and showed me that they may be a contender for the championship. The defense remained solid, and the attack was the creative, high intensity offense you would expect from Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomez and Simao. The strange thing about it was that the initial goal came from the center back, Pepe in the 62nd minute. An impressive give and go between three tired Turkish defenders led to the go ahead goal. It was only a matter of time as the Turkish defense had been lacking strength since the end of the first half.
Turkey had spurts of near brilliance as they desperately tried to tie the game in the last 20 minutes. All chances were denied as Pepe and the rest of the Portuguese defense kept Turkey scoreless. Portugal then capped the game with a goal in the 90th minute as Ronaldo fed an accurate ball to a cutting Moutinho, who led Meireles to a relatively open onion bag.
I name Pepe as the player of the game not only for his offensive strike, but for his defense. Pepe brought the Portuguese attack alive with the tie-breaking goal, while making a statement in the defense, and showing himself as a man to be reckon with in the tournament. Pepe and Portugal will affirm that they are among the ranks of Germany, Italy, and France as they will give all three a run for the trophy.
