Under-fire Portugal eyes sharper attacking effort against Uzbekistan

For a team that enjoyed 75 per cent possession, completed 783 passes and spent much of the afternoon monopolising the ball, Portugal emerged from its World Cup opener with remarkably little to show for.

The numbers from the 1-1 Group K draw against DR Congo make for uncomfortable reading as Portugal managed just seven shots, with only one of them on target. DR Congo, despite having little of the ball, produced eight shots and had a superior xG of 0.87 compared to Portugal’s 0.65.

The result inevitably has brought the focus on Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 41-year-old remains one of football’s biggest attractions, particularly for an Uzbekistan side whose players grew up idolising him. Across Uzbekistan’s markets and streets, shirts bearing Ronaldo’s name remain commonplace.

Ronaldo failed to hit the target with any of his three attempts against DR Congo and is now without a goal in his last 10 appearances at major tournaments.

The concern for Roberto Martinez is whether Portugal has become too focused on finding him. There were moments against Congo when attacks appeared to gravitate towards the veteran striker rather than finding the most dangerous options available.

Four years ago, Portugal’s most complete performance came after Fernando Santos had left Ronaldo on the bench against Switzerland and Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 victory. Martinez is highly unlikely to push for such a move. Instead, he is more likely to refresh the side around Ronaldo.

Ruben Dias has returned to training after missing the opener and should replace Tomas Araujo in central defence, while Francisco Conceicao’s lively cameo against Congo may earn him a starting berth ahead of Bernardo Silva.

Uzbekistan, meanwhile, arrives with encouragement despite the 1-3 defeat to Colombia. The World Cup debutant produced an expected goals figure of 1.16, the highest by a nation in its first-ever World Cup match since Slovakia in 2010 and the highest by an Asian debutant since Kuwait in 1982.

Led by Eldor Shomurodov, supported by Jaloliddin Masharipov and Abbosbek Fayzullaev, and anchored by Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov, Fabio Cannavaro’s outfit has shown enough to suggest it will not go down without a fight against a side that it is increasingly finding it difficult to strike a balance between teamplay and its talisman.