Team Focus: What's Portugal's Plan B without Cristiano Ronaldo?

Cristiano Ronaldo's left thigh hasn't quite gained the same repute as David Beckham's fifth metatarsal did all of a decade ago but it's heading in the same direction - at least in Portugal. The country's talismanic captain "should" be fit for their opening World Cup group match against Germany (to quote Tuesday's O Jogo, which virtually trembled in one's hands), but coach Paulo Bento openly admitted last week that he needed a "Plan B" for if his team were without Ronaldo.

It has been a concern for a while. Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes in only 2 of Real Madrid's last 10 matches of the season, a spell during which we became almost as used to him ushering his team forward from the bench as we have to seeing him skin defenders. When Portugal take on Mexico in a Boston friendly on Friday, Ronaldo will again be missing. The plan, for now, is for the star man to rest at the team hotel, with Bento saying there is "no set deadline" for when he will train or play again.

Bento has openly acknowledged the need for a back-up, whether or not Ronaldo is ready to face the Germans in Salvador on June 16th. In Saturday's friendly against Greece, we got an idea of how Portugal might attempt to compensate. Having consistently rolled with a 4-3-3 (and very few personnel changes) since his October 2010 appointment, Bento went 4-4-2 against Fernando Santos' team. Hélder Postiga and Éder of Braga led the line. Nani and Silvestre Varela supported on the wings, with a central midfield pairing of William Carvalho and Miguel Veloso there to provide cover. Nani, still fresh after a season in which he made just 7 Premier League starts, made hay and was largely responsible for 42% of Portugal's attacks coming down the right.

They've been here before, even with Ronaldo fit and raring to go. May 2012's inglorious 0-0 draw with Macedonia, part of Portugal's erratic build-up to the Euros in Poland and Ukraine, also marked Bento testing out a 4-4-2. In the second half of that match, the coach even tried out Nani in the number 10 role, playing just off the rangy Hugo Almeida.

On this occasion, when Bento moved back to 4-3-3 in the second period - with Nani and Varela flanking the substitute Almeida - another winger, Vierinha, had a turn in the number 10 slot. Using a winger's technique in a central area is an interesting way to flip the script, but if Portugal were serious about resurrecting the number 10's place in the cradle of the selecção, Bento might have made attempts to repair his fractured relationship with Danny. The 30-year-old was in sensational form during the second half of the Russian Premier League season in particular, and scored 13, adding 12 assists, in just 25 starts.

Form, however, is not always the deciding factor for Bento. He has his men that he trusts, and generally he sticks by them. Ricardo Quaresma's stunning form since his winter return to Porto earned him a place in Bento's 30, but not in the final 23. He is the one who would have been the most obvious Ronaldo replacement. Even if a direct swap for the skipper is largely impossible, Quaresma showed quite Cristiano-like tendencies in his Europa League outings, hitting an average of 4.5 shots per game - more than anybody else in the competition.

Many also believed that Quaresma was very unlucky to lose out to Nani in the final reckoning. Perhaps that is so, but the Manchester United winger looks keen to make up for lost time in the past campaign, as well as for the disappointment of being forced out of the last World Cup with a shoulder injury. If Vierinha hadn't missed the bulk of this season with a serious knee injury (like Nani, the Wolfsburg winger only started 7 matches in his club's league campaign), he probably would have supplanted both. The 28-year-old had been heavily in credit with the national team ever since an excellent performance in the vital March 2013 qualifying win in Azerbaijan. Vierinha directly stood in for Ronaldo that night, even wearing his number 7 shirt.

The need for a cutting edge is a very pressing one. Territorially, Portugal bossed Greece throughout. They had 58% possession, and 16 shots to 4. Yet visiting goalkeeper Orestis Kamezis was never overwhelmed. This is perhaps where Bento's 4-4-2 is limited against defensively disciplined opposition. Service from Nani and Varela is a must, because there was little craft in the middle without the rested João Moutinho. His vision makes a huge difference. Even as the Monaco midfielder battled to adapt to Ligue 1 in this club season, he made 8 assists and averaged 1.9 key passes per match.

One would assume that Ronaldo will be pressed into service against Germany, come what may. It is probably Portugal's biggest moment of the group. Yet Bento is right to look for an alternative strategy, regardless of their captain's fitness. As Euro 2012 showed, a couple of the supporting cast will need to step up if Portugal are to thrive. Nani and Moutinho, having endured tough club campaigns, are prime candidates to do so.

Do you think Portugal's Plan B will work? Let us know in the comments below