Quiz of the week: How much do you remember from the last 7 days of Portuguese football?
Have we got a quiz for you! 10 questions here, all about events from the past 7 days of footballing action! Let us know how many you manage to get right! The answer appears at the end of each question, so make sure you think of your answer before you see the correct one. No cheating!
1. A nice easy one to get the quiz started: who scored the winning goal for Portugal in the Nations League final?
Yes, who could forget? Last Sunday, Portugal faced The Netherlands in the inaugural Nations League final. But the simple question we ask is: who was Portugal’s hero in the final and bagged that all-important goal to give Portugal a slender 1-0 victory over the Dutch?
ANSWER:
Gonçalo Guedes! - Of course it was! A beautiful assist from Bernardo Silva allowed the Valencia man to rifle it home, too powerful for the outstretched hand of Cillessen.
2. Where are Portugal currently ranked in the FIFA World rankings - and which team(s) are currently above them?
The new FIFA World Rankings were announced on Friday, and Portugal saw their position in the rankings change after the UEFA Nations League came to an end. But where do they rank now, and who are currently above them?
ANSWER:
5th! - Indeed, Portugal have moved up two places to sit 5th in the latest world rankings. They currently sit behind Belgium, France, Brazil and England.
3. That final versus The Netherlands saw Rui Patricio become the most capped goalkeeper in Portuguese footballing history! How many caps does he currently have to his name?
Yep, Rui Patricio managed to surpass the number of caps that Vitor Baia managed to amass for his country, making the Wolves shot-stopper the standalone out-and-out most capped goalkeeper in Portugal’s history. But we want to know: do you know how many caps he now lays claim to?
ANSWER:
81! - Kudos to you if you remembered that the clash with The Netherlands marked Patricio’s 81st senior cap for Portugal - and what a performance he put in to mark the occasion.
4. How many Portuguese players were named in the official UEFA Nations League team of the finals - and what were their names?
Final question on the UEFA Nations League, I promise. But yes, we want to know if you remember how many Portuguese players were named in the UEFA Nations League team of the tournament - and who they were?
ANSWER:
Five! - As winners, Portugal unsurprisingly had more players in the team of the tournament than any of the other 3 teams to make it to this stage - and they were Nelson Semedo, Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Scroll down for rest of quiz.
5. Also this week, AS Roma officially announced that Shakhtar Donetsk coach Paulo Fonseca was their new manager. But which Portuguese manager did Shakhtar choose to replace him with?
After seeing the incredibly successful Paulo Fonseca depart, Shakhtar decided to keep things Portuguese, and elected to appoint another Portuguese manager as their team’s new head coach. But the question we want to know is: who was this mysterious replacement?
ANSWER:
Luis Casto! - Yes, the man who managed Guimaraes last season was the man chosen to succeed Paulo Fonseca at Shakhtar. Big shoes to fill! You can read more about him HERE.
6. The 100-man shortlist was recently announced for the 2019 Golden Boy. How many Portuguese players made the shortlist - and can you name at least 3 of them?
Yes, yesterday the lengthy list of players to be considered for this year’s Golden Boy - the award given for the best young player in world football - was announced, and Portugal had a good number of representatives present. But we want to know: Can you remember exactly how many Portuguese players made this shortlist? And can you give the name of at least three of them?
ANSWER:
Ten! - Yep, 10% of the 100 players on the shortlist were Portuguese. They were Joao Felix, Florentino Luis, Gedson Fernandes, Jose Gomes, Joao Filipe, Diogo Queiros, Diogo Dalot, Rafael Leao, Mesaque Dju and Domingos Quina.
7. In a recent study, CIES football observatory accurately calculated the most valuable footballers in Europe’s top 5 leagues. How many Portuguese players were in the top 100?
That’s right. Recently CIES football observatory revealed their end-of-season ranking of the most valuable player’s in Europe’s top 5 leagues, using their algorithm that takes into account “age, contract, position, minutes, goals, international status, team results”, among other things. But: do you know how many Portuguese players were named in the top 100? Bonus points if you can name them all too!
ANSWER:
Six! - Just the 6 Portuguese players in the top 100 most valuable, They were, from most to least valuable: Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo, Goncalo Guedes, Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves.
8. Which legendary goalkeeper has been linked to a move to Porto in recent weeks?
Portugal have seen some legendary ‘keepers take to the field in the Primeira Liga in recent years - while Jan Oblak and Ederson both featured in the league before moving on to Atletico Madrid and Manchester City respectively, both Inter icon Julio Cesar and Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas have also played in Portugal over the past few years. But, another veteran goalkeeper has also been linked with a move to Portugal. Who?
ANSWER:
Gianluigi Buffon! - Of course it is! The Juventus legend, aged 41, was heavily linked with Porto earlier last week - what a sight it would be to see the man himself grace the Portuguese league!
9. How many players based in Portugal are competing in this year’s Gold Cup?
Now, these last two questions are much trickier, no doubt about that. But that’s right, the Gold Cup kicked off this week! For those unfamiliar, that’s the major continental competition for North America, the equivalent of the Euros for Europe, AFCON for Africa and the Copa America for South America, featuring the likes of Mexico, USA and Canada alongside some minnows of the sport such as Martinique, Bermuda and Haiti.
But the question is: do you know how many of the players competing in this year’s event play their club football in Portugal? Go on, take a guess!
ANSWER:
Two! - Yep, just 2 Portuguese-based player is competing in this year’s Gold Cup - it was originally 1 with 19-year old Vitoria Setubal shot-stopper Josue Duverger called up for Haiti! But Estoril's Kenji Gorre, who was on loan at Primeria Liga side Nacional last season, was called up to replace the injured Gervane Castaneer for Curaçao. 25 bonus points if you were able to name the player too!
10. Along the same lines as the previous question, can you guess how many Portuguese-based players are competing in this year’s Copa America?
As the Gold Cup takes place this summer, the South American equivalent is also kicking off, sporting some of the world’s stars such as Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Philipe Coutinho and James Rodriguez, among many others! But the question we ask is: just how many of the players at this year’s event played their club football in Portugal for the whole of last season?
ANSWER:
Six! - That’s right! While there are fewer teams competing in the Copa America than the Gold Cup, there are five more players based in Portugal playing in the South American competition than the North American equivalent. They are:
Eder Militao - Brazil and FC Porto (will represent Real Madrid next season)
Yordan Osorio - Venezuela and Guimaraes
Jhon Murillo - Venezuela and Tondela
Marcos Acuna - Argentina and Sporting CP
Cristian Borja - Colombia and Sporting CP
Sebastian Coates - Uruguay and Sporting CP
Shoya Nakajima, who played part of last season at Portimonense last season, is also taking part in the event - for Japan. In a competition for South American countries. Yes, rather strange.
So, what score did you manage to get? Let us know in the comments below, and tell us what you thought of the quiz! Go on, be honest, we can take it!
Goncalo Guedes. Photo author: Анна Нэсси. License link.
