After the opening draw against Ukraine a few days ago, Portugal is eager to win all 3 points against Serbia when continuing to play at home. Therefore, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates entered the match very quickly, pushing their opponents back to their home field. However, before they could find a way into the opponent's goal, they suddenly received a bucket of cold water.
In the 8th minute, Coach Santos's team received a bucket of cold water. Goalkeeper patricio made a foul in blocking Gacinovic in the penalty area and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot.
From a distance of 11m, Dusan Tadic easily opened the score for Serbia. Taking the lead quite early, the away team gathered in large numbers on the home field to set up a defensive counter-attacking game.
After being left behind, the Ba Tra team became more and more crazy in attack and also had finishing situations. Ronaldo continued to be a bright spot for the reigning European champions when he launched a dangerous free-kick attack on the left wing. However, goalkeeper Dmitrovic had a spectacular save flight.
Portugal completely dominated the game thanks to their mobile midfield. However, their attacks still depend too much on Ronaldo. Once CR7 was closely marked by the opposing defenders, he could not launch the desired shot.
After 30 minutes of play, another bucket of water poured on the home team when Ronaldo was injured in an acceleration.
Sitting outside the pitch while the medical team checked, CR7's disappointed eyes turned to Coach Fernando Santos and demanded to bring Pizzi onto the pitch for him. The most expected striker had to leave the field, leaving a burden on his teammates.
However, towards the end of the first half, Danilo Pereira's moment of brilliance brought an equalizer for the home team. An acceleration in the middle before launching a powerful, beautiful shot, defeating goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
In the second half, Portugal tried to attack to find a second goal, but their away style of play lacked sharpness and was broken quite often by Serbia. The clearest opportunity came in the 71st minute when Bernardo Silva assisted Rafa Silva to come close to the goal but a Serbian defender rushed to block it right before the goal line. Controversy broke out when the home team demanded an 11m ball when the ball touched the opponent's hand after Andre Silva's header. The referee decided not to award a penalty after consulting with an assistant of his.
The final minutes were really exciting with the pressure from the home team and the endurance from Serbia. In the end, at the end of the match, with a total of 30 shots - double the opponent's, Portugal only had 1 goal and 1 point.
In June, Portugal will not play in the qualifying round because they have to participate in the UEFA Nations League finals.
