Euro 2020 Match 5: Late Bruma Goal Finds Portugal a Point Against English

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

Euro 2020 Match 5: England v Portugal

Late Bruma Goal Finds Portugal a Point Against English

June 15, 2020

England 2 Portugal 2

 

Portugal brought Bruma off the bench to score late and claim a draw against England at the home of English football.

 

England, at Wembley, was always going to be a tight affair on paper for the Portuguese. Without Harry Kane, for the first game at least, the pundits queried how Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling would fare.

 

Portugal, instead of focusing on the English players, sent long balls through to their attackers. Cristiano Ronaldo had the first shot of the match, only for the ball to fly wide of the mark.

 

Looking like a man on a mission, Sterling’s positioning was impeccable, and gave England the lead in the eighth minute. He received a cutback pass near the penalty spot and, with little real pressure, slotted home the goal.

 

Portugal sought the equaliser with haste, only for England to keep their defensive shape, as well as close down Ronaldo anytime he received the ball. Portugal’s best effort came from a Ronaldo cross to the right wing, where João Féliz passed the ball into the box. André Silva tapped the ball towards Bernardo Silva, only for English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to get in the way. In the next passage of play, Bruno Fernandes tried for goal, only to have Pickford pick off the run before it became dangerous.

 

In the 33rd minute, Danilo Pereira had an attempt of goal saved. Then, as halftime approached, José Fonte popped a cross into André Silva, whose header was saved on the line by Danny Rose. However, the ball hit the back of Pickford’s hand and bounced over the line, making the scores one-all.

 

Player of the Match Sterling nearly restored the lead, with Rui Patrício rushing out and diving to parry the ball to relative safety. Declan Rice then had a ping from long range; if Rui Patrício had not got a hand to it, the ball may have gone in the goal.

 

After the break, England used the momentum of the first half into the early stages of the second. Rashford sent a through ball for Ross Barkley, only for the shot to reach the wrong side of the post.

 

Little happened for the remainder of the half, as neither side could gain the upper hand. Eventually, England worked down the left wing constantly, and the hard work paid off. The two substitutes, Mason Mount and Jadon Sancho, combined to gift the latter a header worthy of winning the match in additional time.

 

However, the Portuguese did not give in, knowing a goal was on the cards if they played it right. Bruma, off the bench, waited until the opportune moment to cut his run through the England defence. The through ball initially looked off the mark, only for Bruma to adjust his run, and with his bodywork, reached the ball first and fired, equalising, and sending the crowd into epic roars. England knew there was no hope of gaining the full three points, with barely any time left. The match ended two-all.