Portugal v Netherlands: League of Nations final – live! | Soccer

"Hi Rob" said Breen Ó Conchubhair. "Who wins the Ronaldo contest – Virgil Van D?"

He is mainly cared for by Ligt, so he did not really face van Dijk. Ronaldo v de Ligt is about equal, I would say. Ligt was pretty hard and ready with him.

Peep Peep! Portugal was the best team without creating clear opportunities. The Netherlands has been clean, tidy and completely sterile. See you in 10 minutes.

45 + 1 min The corner is short, dipped deep and directed by Fonte. And that's it.

45 min Blind wins a corner for the Netherlands, their first match. Danilo and Portugal are heading in a promising way. Finally, Semedo's shot, which was several kilometers wide, deviated from van Dijk for another corner.

42 min "Either the German commentator on ZDF does not seem to judge the action worthy of comment, or there is a technical problem, but he has been silent for at least 10 minutes now," Michael Dear says. "Given the appalling state of the football commentary in this country, I am just as happy to hear the noise of the crowd, the occasional noises of players screaming instructions, or the the thud of the feet hitting the balloon. "

This may be a protest against modern commentary, and especially against the 99% inability of commentators to even consider allowing a millisecond of dead air (sic).

41 min Portugal continues to race after the glory of the League of Nations. Ronaldo beats Dumfries and Ligt before firing Cillessen from distance.

39 min "What a pity Pepe is not qualified for this final," said JR in Illinois. "It's really a shame. It is so sad that we miss the opportunity to witness his delicate skill and his incomparable and irreproachable sportsmanship. Terribly unhappy, we are. Did I mention how bad it is?

A bit of pantomime nastiness is exactly what this game needs for mine.

38 min Do this five shots. Bernardo Silva gives an inviting pbad to Bruno Fernandes, who sweeps the bar from inside the D.

37 min Bernardo Silva pbades a fine pbad to Bruno Fernandes, whose firing from the edge of the box is deflected behind van Dijk. Fernandes is certainly not shy. I think it was his fourth of half.

35 min Ronaldo plays the ball back to Guedes, whose low shot from the edge of the area takes a deflection before van Dijk miss the ball. Portugal has been much more threatening in attack.

33 min Dumfries runs 50 meters to the right. He looks up at all the blue shirts waiting in the middle – then he decides to play a short pbad, the most abominable pbad I've seen in my life. I will not even give him a description.

31 min For once, the statistics are a perfect summary of the game. The Netherlands had 60% possession of the ball and no shot on goal. Portugal had 40 percent and six strokes.

30 minutes Bruno Fernandes, right, gives an awkward and distracted kick that is swept by Cillessen. In the resulting small corner, Ronaldo made a header to the keeper, although he was reported offside.

28 min Ronaldo's shot from the right of the box deviates away from van Dijk. The corner is tilted towards Fonte, whose head near the point of repair is a little tame and comfortably backed by Cillessen. It was a chance. In fact, it hit his shoulder, which would explain why he looked so docile. Meanwhile, Ligt took one in Dias's face. I thought it was accidental.

27 min "Hello Rob," says Kari Tulinius. "Viasat, the channel that broadcasts the League of Nations here in Finland, certainly does not seem to care much about the final.Here up, the whole match was broadcast from a high camera in the stands Behind the Dutch goal, showing just about the entire pitch at all times, it's interesting to watch the match that way, but it's hard to say what happens when the ball is close to the Portuguese goal. "

It's like being there, sort of.

25 min A foul Wijnaldum 40 meters from the goal of Guerreiro. Ordinary I would not give the time to such an incident, but I begin to feel guilty about the lack of regular updates. I swear, nothing happens.

21 min Portugal has a good luck, its best match in terms of possession of the ball. It's still not particularly exciting, and the game might be useful.

19 min Ronaldo is crushed by Ligt, not for the first time in the match. It's the moment when I tell you that Ligt was four when Ronaldo made his debut in Portugal.

18 min "Mrs. Dony and Master Dony are both in bed, I refuse to pay for Sky Sports (and God knows there's nothing more for now), and I'm currently on a diet, which means that I try not to eat or drink. all that is useless, "cries Matt Dony. "So, my Sunday night was spent soberly on the couch watching a recording of the original production of Into The Woods on Broadway. It happened to that. No pressure, Rob, but if your MBM is not entertaining enough, I can not guarantee that I will see tomorrow. Maybe disappear in a sad puddle of boredom from the middle-lower age (still south of 40!).

I could do something crazy if you want.

17 min Fernandes pbades a terrible pbad directly to Bergwijn, who charges the heart of the Portuguese defense from the center line. He arrives at the edge of the area and tries to spin in front of the last man, Dias, who stays on his feet and makes a nice tackle.

15 minutes Portugal is playing hard, as it has done successfully during most of Euro 2016. They are so well organized in defense and so far, the Netherlands have not been able to to follow them.

14 min "It's great to see a Scottish town sneaking backstage for the Netherlands tonight," said Alan Walker of the new favorite defender of all, Denzel Dumfries.

13 min We have some technical problems; excuses. You did not miss much, just a distant shot from Fernandes that was comfortably saved by Cillessen.

9 min Bruno Fernandes has a shot of 25 meters, and immediately wishes that he did not do it.

8 min The Netherlands dominate the ball as expected, but until now, they were all in front of the Portuguese defense.

5 min "Can not see a shot from the Portuguese manager and do not immediately think of Jack Straw," says Antaki. "Sadly."

Well, it was possible, but it is no longer the case. Thank you so much.

4 min A very long balloon is directed to Bernardo Silva, who sits beautifully on the chest before falling back into the box after a challenge from Blind and van Dijk. Portugal is appealing without success a penalty. Van Dijk got his hands on Silva, but probably not enough to make it a mistake.

3 min It looks like Portugal are playing 4-3-3, with Guedes left of the attack and Bernardo Silva right. Ronaldo just gave the referee a rollock for not giving him a free kick.

2 min "I saw the movie Maradona today and I admit I was disappointed," says Gary Naylor. "The story is more about addiction (and that's the sense in which every addict story is the same story) and not so much of a scandalous genius. The little football included, shoot footage closely, with no idea of ​​his unparalleled domination of space by technique, vision and personality. "

I guess you could say that football has already been played a million times, but that sounds a little disappointing.

1 minute Peep Peep! Portugal, in red, starts from left to right. The Netherlands is in their street. This polar blue jersey pays tribute to the 1988 team's clbadic changing colors, while a deep royal blue geometric pattern celebrates "total football" – the innovative style of play that earned them respectful status in the '70s.

The atmosphere is beautiful in Porto; it looks like a good game. Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the Portuguese team sing the national anthem as if the match depended on it.

"Ronaldo will score and Portugal will win 2 to 1" said Mayokun Mesole. "He's been doing this for years tonight will not be different."

There is no particle of my being that will be surprised if this happens. Unbelievable to think that once upon a time, in a very distant galaxy, many considered him a big game bottler.

"What is a 4-D-2 training?" asks Lars Bøgegaard.

It's a diamond midfielder. I can not type 4-1-2-1-2; I get too many Full Metal Jacket flashbacks.

Portugal (possible 4-D-2) Rui Patricio; Semedo, Dias, Fonte, Guerreiro; Danilo; Fernandes, Carvalho; B Silva; Guedes, Ronaldo.
Substitutes: Sa, Beto, Cancelo, Moutinho, Sousa, Jota, R Silva, Neves, Rui, Pizzi, Felix.

Netherlands (final 4-3-3) Cillessen; Dumfries, of Ligt, van Dijk, blind; De Roon, F de Jong, Wijnaldum; Bergwijn, Depay, Babel.
Substitutes: Vermeer, Bizot, Hateboer, Ake, Propper, Promes, Van Aanholt, Vrij, Strootman, Vilhena, L de Jong, van de Beek.

Arbitrator Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain).

This is a question to which philosophers will reflect until the end of time: what does all this mean? Why did we all receive the gift of the League of Nations? I do not know at all how important this first final of the League of Nations between the Netherlands and Portugal is for the people involved, nor where it fits on the gloryometer, and that seems a little strange.

We know that this will not mean as much for the winners as the Euro 2016 and the Euro 88 respectively, but the proof in the semifinals is that it matters more than we thought when l & # 39; 39 idea was conceived. Winning would certainly mean more for Portugal than for the SkyDome Cup. No matter which team raises the trophy tonight, it will be a good story. Portugal could win as a host, which it had not managed to do at Euro 2004, and Cristiano Ronaldo could add to his already ridiculous list of honors . How many leagues have nations won, "Lionel"?

If the Netherlands win, it will be a good way to wipe out their lost years after the 2014 World Cup and could constitute an Anglo-Scottish Cup for a young team that has captivated the world. imagination as only a Dutch team can do it.

We will also see, among others, Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. I'm not sure what that means, but I know there are better ways to spend the night on Sunday.

Start is at 19:45.