Portugal and England both played their final preparatory matches for the World Cup last night, with both teams walking away with credible victories, 2-1 over Nigeria and 3-0 over Costa Rica, respectively. The win was especially notable in England’s case as Thomas Tuchel rolled out what very much seemed like his first-choice lineup “concept” for the tournament.
That concept did include Reece James at right back, which was great to see. Reecey played just over an hour before being replaced by Djed Spence.
Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon, and Ollie Watkins scored the three goals for the Three Lions, who play their first of three games in a week’s time, against Croatia.
Also, nice to see Tuchel on the right end of a crooked scoreline in Orlando, as opposed to the last time he (and we) were there, in 2022.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, Portugal had their send-off party in Leiria, and Pedro Neto got that party started with a goal halfway through the first half. He would depart at the half, with Portugal going on to win 2-1 against a once again Chelsea-less Nigeria. It’s been a while since we’ve had a Chelsea representative among the Super Eagles; I do miss those days.
Former Blues João Félix and Renato Veiga also featured for Portugal, who surely will be carrying some pretty grand ambitions into this tournament.
