Portugal coach Fernando Santos was left frustrated by a lack of creativity and explosiveness as his side drew 0-0 with France in the Nations League on Sunday.
In front of a home crowd of around 1,000 socially distanced fans at the Stade de France, a host of European football s elite stars were on display in a generally entertaining encounter.
But despite all of the attacking talent on show, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, the match failed to yield a goal, with France unable to claim revenge in the two teams first meeting since Portugal s triumph in the Euro 2016 final.
Although Portugal came away with a commendable point, Santos seemed a little underwhelmed, as if he was expecting more of a spectacle.
He said: It was a very balanced game between two teams that were too cautious, especially in offensive terms.
It doesn t seem like too much respect, we had quality players, but it wasn t a very fast game.
Fernando Santos: Foi um jogo muito equilibrado, mas podíamos ter feito melhor.
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal)
There was a lack of more aggressive dynamics in the search for the goal. It s in these games that coaches always want more.
We had to be organised, sure, but we expected creativity, explosiveness to be unleashed. Both teams played on the back foot a bit too much.
Whenever the game changed from that, the teams created problems for each other.
Portugal right-back Nelson Semedo had a more positive outlook, however.
He said: I think, in general, the team played a great game. The defence did very well.
They have a great team, many good players and we managed to control them. We ended up with a draw, we wanted to win, but I don t think it s a bad result.
The stalemate leaves Portugal and France tied on seven points at the summit of Group A3 after three games – Croatia, who beat Sweden 2-1, are four points adrift.
