i think missing Villa is a pretty big deal, but i've seen games where they struggled to score with him in the squad too.
Disappointed with Portugal in the attacking third today. Yet again, i would love to know why the forward pecking order was what it was. Varela got 9 minutes at the end, and made one play (think he stripped Ramos on the right side?). Which was more than i think i saw Nelson Oliveira make in what, 30? 40? Would love to have seen him with more playing time.
All the commentary in the build up about how Ronaldo was somehow going to drag this team into the final by the scruff of their neck conveniently forgets that this is how Portugal has basically gone out of every tournament... with R in isolation up front, unable to link up with an otherwise toothless offense, counting on drawing fouls within free kick distance--which is counting on something that is pretty low percentage for even the best free kick takers in the world.
In the other 2 thirds i thought they played excellent, and showed, as did Italy, that you don't have to concede the lion's share of possession to this team. It's a great team, but they are definitely beatable.