Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo will be wondering what he has to do to score, following a 0-0 stalemate with an underwhelming Austria that means the Selecao continue to search for their first Euro 2016 win.
Robert Almer was the busiest man on the pitch, as the Austrian shot-stopper denied Portugal on six clear-cut occasions, taking the plaudits on a night when Ronaldo was set to break record after record.
The Real Madrid star now has 20 shots to his name at the competition, which is more than a few nations have mustered up collectively, and even saw a second-half penalty crack against the foot of the post and avoid nestling in the back of the Austrian net.
In an attempt to secure some good karma, the forming Sporting winger took a selfie with a pitch invading fan at the full-time whistle, but the photo would perhaps have been a little more cheerful had Ronaldo broken a goalscoring record, rather than just overtaking Luis Figo to be the Selecao’s most-capped player in history.
As a collective, Fernando Santos’ men managed 23 attempts on target, as well as striking the woodwork on two occasions, which means that Portugal have totted up 50 shots on goal across their opening two Euro 2016 fixtures – scoring just once in the process.
“We can’t wallow in our own misery,” Santos grudgingly accepted after the game.
“When we talk about the team, we can’t concentrate on how many missed chances we had – fair or unfair – this is football.”
Portugal have left themselves needing a win against Hungary in their final Group F clash, in order to secure their safe passage into the knock-out stages, which is a disappointing situation for a side that have shown so much promise.
“In both matches we had enough chances but weren’t able to score more,” reasoned frustrated star midfielder Joao Moutinho.
“We have to convert our chances and when we do, we will win by more than one goal, I’m sure.”
Impressive performances on the night were reserved for a few more conservative positions on the field, with Raphael Guerreiro, Ricardo Carvalho and William impressing for the Selecao.
While they provided some of the basis for another dominant showing, a tinkered front three of Ricardo Quaresma, Ronaldo and Nani failed to have the desired effect.
Santos admitted that he expected Austria to be much braver and more expansive with their attacking play, but instead Portugal were faced with trying to break down a side that were more focused on protecting their own 18-yard box.
Chance after chance fell to the Selecao, with Rui Patricio only forced into one good save over the course of the match, leaving the experienced goalkeeper to intermittently do warm-up exercises on the pitch in order to keep warm and sharp.
The goals are coming, but after an evening which promised for Ronaldo to break so many landmarks as a Selecao player, a draw against Austria leaves a dominant Portugal feeling ultimately defeated.
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