In the Nations League group stage match, Portugal hosted Poland at home. Despite the fact that the opponent also had many stars, Ronaldo and his teammates easily won 3-1. The goalscorers for Portugal in this match were Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva, along with an own goal from the opponent.
Along with the veterans, young defender Renato Veiga unexpectedly made his mark. Coach Roberto Martinez spoke about the Chelsea youngster after Portugal's win, per O Jogo: "He has a very special profile. In his first training session, he showed that he has matured a lot since September.
He is a player with great enthusiasm and communication. He can defend wide spaces and is confident in the air against a very tall Poland side.
“It was a great debut. For a striker like Lewandowski, I think it was a debut that showed Renato’s potential and reflected how he is developing at the moment.”
Starting in the left centre-back position, Renato Veiga was trusted to play 90 minutes. According to statistics, the 21-year-old star touched the ball 72 times, made 12 defensive moves and won 2 aerial duels.
It is worth noting that Veiga does not play centre-back at Chelsea. Just a few days ago, he played as an advanced left-back in the Blues' 4-2 win over Gent in the UEFA Conference League. In that match, the Portuguese star also scored 1 goal and 1 assist, showing impressive attacking ability from a defender.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca also praised the new talent. He spoke about Veiga's versatility: "He's tall and big. Today he played high up the pitch like an attacking midfielder. He did very well. You never imagine Renato coming into the box and scoring. That shows his potential.
When we needed him to play as a holding midfielder against Bournemouth, he was there. The other day against Brighton, he was at full-back. He is versatile. Today he played forward and did very well.”
