Miguel Veloso’s late victor ensured Fernando Santos’s side would claim all three points from their Euro 2016 qualifier, but how did Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates perform?
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The three time Ballon d’Or victor will also have an eye fixed on Portugal’s fixture with Denmark in October, with victory over the Scandinavians confirming automatic qualification to the next summer’s European Championships in France.
Meanwhile, Albania hold the play-off spot in the competition as they are third in the group.
Given the struggles of Serbia and Armenia, Portugal are only a point clear at the top and face qualification rivals Albania and Denmark in their next two competitive matches. You may think Portugal are strong favorites, but write Albania off at your peril: They’ve been transformed under the management of Italian coach Gianni De Biasi, who has been in charge for four years.
On the other hand, Portugal battled Armenia and they were threatened early in the game as Marcos Pizzelli scored in the 14th minute of the match. Needless to say, the Real Madrid winger is Portugal’s best player by a huge margin, and he’s capable of single-handedly producing match-winning moments.
Away from home, Portugal are in fine qualifying form having won five on the bounce in both Euro and World Cup qualifiers.
Ricardo Carvalho came off midway through the first half against France and Southampton’s Jose Fonte could take his place if the former isn’t available in Elbasan. His mere presence on the field will make this a much bigger test than that which Albania overcame last September.
Cristiano Ronaldo was conspicuous by his absence in Portugal’s defeat to Albania past year, though he’ll be leading his nation’s charge on Monday.
These two have met on six occasions down the years.
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The visitors looked set to lose their flawless record in Albania as they entered added time in Elbasan with Nani’s effort against the woodwork the closest they had come.
