The reasons behind Portugal's disaster

Portugal's defeat to Serbia on home soil in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers came as a shock in the Iberian country, but the team's collapse has its explanation if we take a closer look at the sources of the issue.

Fernando Santos' side have not been eliminated from next year's competition in Qatar, but they failed to grab Group A's top spot and will now have to try and achieve qualification through the playoffs in March.

Santos has lost his way

The Portugal coach has been on the receiving end of criticism for his team's recent displays, both in the last European Championship and in these qualifiers.

Santos led the team to the only two trophies Portugal have won in their history, as they clinched the UEFA Nations League in 2019 after coming out victorious from Euro 2016.

The Portuguese tactician assumed responsibility following the defeat to Serbia at the Estadio da Luz on Sunday after being criticised for his team's style of play.

Detractors point out that Portugal are playing something halfway between reactive and creative football after winning the Euro 2016 thanks to a very pragmatic approach.

Portugal have a talented squad and Santos has been accused of failing to make the most out of it.

Inconsistent Ronaldo lacks attacking partner

Despite netting both against Ireland on home soil and with Luxembourg, Ronaldo failed to find the back of the net in the two crucial games away at Ireland and then against Serbia.

Meanwhile, the current Manchester United star has yet to find his ideal partner up front, with Diogo Jota producing some good displays as he looks to establish himself in the starting line-up.

Bruno Fernandes is not his Manchester United self

Despite coming into Euro 2020 and the World Cup qualifiers as one of the players who was expected to stand out, Fernandes failed to live up to the hype, mainly due to his lack of prominence in the team, with Santos frequently starting him on the bench.

Fernandes came on with 26 minutes to go against Serbia but contributed virtually nothing to his team's efforts to clinch automatic qualification.

The Manchester United midfielder has played the full 90 minutes in just two of the 11 official matches in which he has featured with Portugal in 2021.

Fernandes has failed to replicate his Manchester United performances in a Portugal shirt, having netted 44 goals in 96 appearances in his first 21 months at Old Trafford.

An old defence

Despite Ruben Dias being one of the most talented centre-backs in European football, Portugal do not possess any other promising central defender, with the 38-year-old Pepe being an undisputed starter and the 37-year-old Jose Fonte being the go-to back-up behind them.

Just a few opportunities to talented forwards

Players such as Goncalo Guedes, Pote, Andre Silva and Joao Felix have been hardly given any opportunities to prove their worth in the Portuguese national team. In fact, the last two played a total of eight minutes against Serbia.

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