Portugal Must Move on: Supreme Talents & Failing Results Under Fernando Santos

Portugal failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, and are now at the mercy of the playoffs where they will face difficult opposition.

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With Fernando Santos at the helm, Portugal won Euro 2016. But the squad was entirely different back then, and Fernando Santos is no longer a good fit for this attack-minded team. We’ll look at Santos’ record in major tournaments, qualifying, and how he failed this time around.

INTRO: 00:00
The 90th Minute: 01:40
Qualifiers: 07:55
Major Tournaments: 10:01
What’s Next?: 14:56
OUTRO: 18:15

[danilonikolic]

As a Serb, thank you for praising our players and mister Stojković. I hope you guys qualify through playoffs, Portuguese people and players deserve it.

[hkmarhk]

"Needing only a draw to qualify" is like a curse in football.

[antoniobrandao]

Winning Euro 16 gave Santos a "get out of jail" card for the rest of his career in the Portuguese team. Unfortunately for all of us, he can be both linked to our biggest success and our biggest failure (in the last 30 years, at least).
The FPF seems to forget that even when Portugal won the Euro, they didn't play well at all. They finished 3rd on the group stage (in any other previous Euro that would be an early exit) and managed to stumble their way to the final with some luck and very conservative football. In the final Éder scored one in a million and they're champions!
I can't remember of one single game under FS which Portugal played a great game against a top team. Not one!
Fernando Santos is a conservative, ultra defensive coach who is wasting talent in a way that turns my stomach. With an above average coach, Portugal could be discussing titles and yet... here we are.

[yadisfhaddad]

Poor Bruno, he's trapped between two coaches who are clueless and totally will waste his talent

[Kyle-lgkm]

Definitely feels like some sort of “Last Dance” vibes for Portugal. Assuming Santos is done after Qatar if they qualify and all of the older players including Ronaldo, Pepe, fonte, Moutinho, etc are done from national team play either in March or Qatar(if they qualify). They’ll need a much more attacking manager with all of the current and upcoming attacking talent they have

[samuelcacador]

This is the video I've been waiting for the last few days

[ClickPulse]

As a portuguese myself I am very thankfull to Fernando Santos for what he did in the 2016 Euro but I also have to admit that we were very lucky in that tournament! And it has been down the hill from 2016 on. I think it's time for a change and for a new coach that actually takes advantage of the quality of the portuguese current squad!

[stevemelo]

As a Portuguese, I agree 100% with everything you said. We have so much talent and Santos has no idea what he is doing with them. It is incredibly frustrating to watch.

[gabkoost]

This is 2021. An era where football follows the path of Guardiola and Klopp. It's all about positive football. Attack. Dynamic offensive strategies.
And who does the Portuguese Federation keeps choosing as manager? Fernando Santos.
An old decrepit, finished, outdated and monumentally incompatible coach in regards to both the time we live in and the capacities of his players.
Even during the very fortuitous 2016 run, it was already palpable that the maniacal negative football of Portugal's team under Santos was much more of an issue than " strategic options due to the squad lack of premium talent in a few positions ".
After a rather positive couple of months that resulted in the nations league trophy (played without Ronaldo..) it was all a complete downhill and we've been experiencing torture for years.
I honestly can say that i never saw such a good team, who has ZERO holes in terms of top quality, play so badly. It's a desert of ideas. A sterile world of anti football and outdated conservative processes that makes it impossible to score goals (thank god for Ronaldo miracles in half the games) and even less possible to defend modern attacking teams.
People have to realize that Santos has consistently been the WORST coach leading a principal nation. Portugal CANNOT have a decent win against a decent team. Last honest good win was against Croacia in November 2020 for the Nations League. Aside from that, NO RELEVANT WIN WHATSOEVER.
Furthermore, the amount of poor games this team had is astonishing. Portugal look like United under Ole but even worse because they actually have a full quality roster and the competition is much weaker.
For a good amount of years it was almost prohibited to criticize Santos because of his Euro win despite everyone knowing how we got the W and how we were playing. Santos has been on the team for 8 years, the team has improved in quality and quantity and the football practiced is worst by the month.
Santos had always been a miserably bad coach. He was the one who ended FCPorto reign. He is remembered as the "Engenier of the Penta" but most forgot that literally anyone could be champion with Porto. Santos managed to lose the league with Jardel and Deco on the squad. Let that sink in.
The fact that he has been awarded with new contracts despite is horrid performance that have been running the players morale and confidence also says a lot about how things work in Portugal. Wether it is in politics, companies or sports, boards will rather keep their friends happy and stick with the collusion than actually make the best decisions for the sake of the future.
Santos should have been out after the 2018 World Cup and Rui Jorge, who has been great in the youth system and has worked with all the new players, should have been promoted.
It is sad to see Ronaldo waste his last years under 2 miserable coaches who do not deserve the job they have.

[yurimpass]

At min 90 after Serbia scores he takes off Danilo who was a -1 for the last 80 mins of the match since he became a 3rd CB right after we scored, then puts Andre Silva. This sub could've been made anytime between min 10 and min 89 would've made much more sense. But then he dared to say that he didn't have the team playing for the draw.

[daninagy]

As a non-Serb living in Serbia, it was so good to see all of my colleagues buzzing on Monday!
They even asked me, if I'd watched the game, and I told them I was busy watching f1...

[oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

The Italy team that won Euro 2020 actually had less talented individuals than Portugal, along with France Portugal probably had the best squad of all competing teams. However Santos hasn't evolved from his 2016 tactics even if his squad has changed... he is running this generation of players into the ground. It's hard not to miss the days of Humberto Coelho and Scolari when Portugal played with a swagger.

[JuanVilorio]

The most criminal part is that Portugal doesn't have a lack of up and coming managers, they have pletora of where to choose from

[adaldi_]

17:46 "I guess we're old men shouting at the sky because the old dog won't learn new tricks" That was beautifully put Adrian.

[joaonuno]

11:03 yes, on that competition we also finished third, but that's not the euro2016 group stage results

[Kurtainman]

Man I love your videos, only channel I actually have notifications on. Keep it up Adrian 🙌🏾

[QazwerDave]

With Silva and Fernandes you already have one of the best midfields in the world

[HollowK]

I undestood nothing untill he whipped up the Shiba meme

[ptlukas]

He is burning through the gratitude quickly here... Most people I know want him to be sacked asap...
Just imagine we fail to qualify for CR7 last world cup, Santos would be cruzified :D

[marting]

Uruguay is in the same boat. Talented team playing an archaic system. Turtle shell defence and wait for a counterattack. Basically always play down to your opponent. Play to tie.
Absolutely garbage to watch.