Yahoo Sports ‘Clearly lacks confidence’ – Leao criticised after being taken off at HT in Portugal-Croatia
The international break has not started in the best way for Rafael Leao as he was brought off at half-time in Portugal’s win over Croatia last night.
Leao was named in the starting line-up for the game that took place in Lisbon at Benfica’s ground, and the first half went well for Portugal but the decision was made to bring the winger off after just 45 minutes.
Their head coach Roberto Martinez was asked about whether he had a physical issue or if it was a purely tactical change, with his comments to A Bola relayed by our colleagues at Football Italia.
“Rafael was substituted for adjusting the positions and for being able to play with Nuno Mendes higher up. It’s part of it. We have two games in 72 hours, so using our energies is important, and that was the reason,” he said.
Nuno Mendes started as a left-back behind Leao, but the PSG defender was used in a more advanced position after the break and there has been the suggestion that the duo do not have much chemistry.
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“I disagree. It’s true that when Nuno and Rafael play together, they need to occupy different spaces, so when Rafael plays, for us, it’s better for him to play wide,” Martinez responded.
“Connections between players are different, but I think that in the first half, we need Rafael to have a player on the wing higher up, while in the second half we needed a wide player lower down.”
The performance of Milan’s No.10 was rather lacklustre in the eyes of A Bola, who gave him a 5 out of 10 in their player ratings.
“Too intermittent. The backheel touch with which he isolated Ronaldo in the 22nd minute was the best he left in the game. He came off at half-time and left everyone sighing for more. He clearly lacks confidence.”
