A couple of Manchester City players were in international action last night – and one star looked good in Portugal’s win over Finland.
We are only a couple of weeks away from Euro 2024 now, and it is a chance for managers to take a look at players heading into the tournament.
Nations are playing friendly matches to try and get their players into some form before the tournament in Germany.
On Tuesday night, Portugal were in action against Finland, with Roberto Martinez looking to continue his excellent start as their manager.
And he did just that, overseeing a 4-2 win. That was his 12th victory in 13 games as Portugal boss.
Joao Cancelo was one Manchester City player to feature in last night’s game, and he impressed…
Man City star Joao Cancelo impresses as Portugal beat Finland in friendly
Cancelo play at right-back for Portugal against Finland, with Nelson Semedo out injured.
It is a position he hasn’t featured in all too much recently, because the star has been playing mostly over on the left for Barcelona.
But Cancelo enjoyed himself against Finland, and had some impressive statistics at the end of the game.
As per Sofascore data, Cancelo was very good on the ball, completing 67/78 (86%) passes. Two of these were ‘key’ passes. He was also very involved, having 103 touches of the ball – only midfielders Joao Neves and Vitinha had more.
Cancelo also did a decent job defensively. He won nine of the 14 duels he contested, and made three defensive actions (two interceptions, one tackle).
Cancelo was handed a 6/10 by Goal for his performance, with the publication saying of him that he’ caused lots of problems in attack but was let down by his finishing’. The 30-year-old had four shots, with two on target and two off.
Shop window coming up for Cancelo
This was a decent performance from Cancelo, who is expected to leave City this summer.
Cancelo spent last season on loan at Barcelona, with Pep Guardiola showing no sign of wanting to reintegrate him back into the City squad last summer.
City would prefer to sell the £250,000-a-week player this summer. He wants to seal a permanent move to Barca, but they may have difficulty affording him, and are thought to want him back on loan again.
If the star impresses at Euro 2024, then it could be good for City and their desire to get a permanent sale.
The tournament acts as a shop window, and Cancelo may attract other suitors if he does well. That said, his strong desire to join Barca may complicate things for City.
It seems that not many people are talking about Portugal leading into Euro 2024. But they have looked very solid so far under Martinez since he took over last year, and may have a chance to go far in the competition.