Gästebuch » performance that did meet the incredibly high standard

LYON, France -- Dont let Cristiano Ronaldos devilish grin and chiseled torso fool you. Portugal is the undisputed ugly duckling of the four teams left standing at the European Championship.While semifinal rival Wales, along with Germany and France, have all impressed with big wins to deservedly reach this stage, Portugal has only joined them after barely squeaking through each round.And unless Ronaldo can rediscover his scoring touch, Portugal will struggle to find a way past an attack fueled by Gareth Bale when it plays Wales at the Stade de Lyon on Wednesday.Portugal coach Fernando Santos, however, doesnt care about style or statistics.I would be bothered if I was at home and they were saying Portugal had played well but was no longer at the Euro, Santos said. We have a goal and we are doing all we can to achieve it. We are not here to play pretty or ugly.We are going to take on an excellent opponent, which has more victories and scored more goals than we have, but we believe we are going to win.How Santos side has managed to reach its fourth semifinal appearance in the last five continental competitions is something of a mystery.Portugal has yet to beat an opponent in 90 minutes of regulation play after five matches at Euro 2016.Portugal limped into the round-of-16 after three draws, finishing third in Group F behind Hungary and Iceland. It then needed an extra-time goal from Ricardo Quaresma to see off Croatia 1-0 in one of the poorest matches of the tournament. Next came a quarterfinal against Poland that Portugal claimed in a penalty shootout following its finish at 1-1 after 120 minutes.All told, Portugal has been in the lead for a total of 22 minutes over the course of more than eight hours of football in France.Yet, here they are, one win away from the final in Paris on July 10.Understandably enough, Portugals players are focusing on the product, not the process.Criticism gives us more motivation, said midfielder Danilo, who is likely to start against Wales for the suspended Williams Carvalho. Its not easy, we see it in the news but it motivates us. It makes us determined to prove them wrong.To assume that credit goes to Ronaldo for Portugal staying in contention is incorrect.Other than one performance that did meet the incredibly high standards the three-time world player of the year has set for himself, Ronaldo has counted more glaring misses than goals.Yes, the two goals he scored in Portugals group match in Lyon were critical to salvaging a 3-3 draw with Hungary and advancing to the knockout rounds. But he has gone goal-less in the other four games, including a missed penalty.Yet despite all its warts, if Portugal has gotten this far it is because Santos players have become experts in the art of survival.The greatest value they have shown throughout the tournament is the mental poise needed to perform error-free as the clock ticks down and the pressure mounts.On no less than four occasions has Portugal stared at a deficit that spelled elimination; and not once did it flinch as it overcame three one-goal deficits against Hungary and an early goal from Poland.Nor has it been all gloom on the pitch. Nani and Quaresma have picked up some of the scoring slack for Ronaldo, 18-year-old Renato Sanches is one of the tournaments sensations, and Pepe has played masterfully in defense. Canada Shoes Outlet . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Clearance Canada Shoes For Sale . 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Cheap Canada Shoes Free Shipping . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant came ready to play in his Golden State Warriors debut in front of a sold-out home audience, but his teammates didnt.Durant went for a team-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting in 37 minutes to go with 10 rebounds. He was the lone bright spot for the Warriors, who lost their season opener in blowout fashion to the San Antonio Spurs 129-100 on Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.Kevin is so good that hes going to look good in any setting with any group of four around him, said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. It wasnt about Kevin at all. It wasnt about one particular player; it was about the group.Durant scored Golden States first field goal of the season with a fadeaway jumper over the smaller Tony Parker, and that was just the beginning.Durant was patient from the onset, as he contemplated when to be aggressive. But when he did attack, he couldnt be stopped. He connected on his first four shots, and his fourth was a 3-pointer from the right wing that got the fans up on their feet. Immediately after draining the trey, he slapped the left side of his hip.He was feeling it, but the same couldnt be said about his supporting cast.Im sure the story tomorrow will be, KD broke up the chemistry and we cant win with KD, and all these other things which is going to come with the territory, Warriors forward?Draymond Green said following the loss. Were looking forward to that. We already know thats coming.The Warriors were outperformed in multiple facets of the game, resulting in an 18-point deficit at the half. They struggled to get consecutive defensive stops and were unable to put together a legitimate comeback. Meanwhile, the Spurs just continued to pile on.?Its a nice little slap in the face, Golden State guard?Stephen Curry said, after registering 26 points and burying three treys.Durant agreed, saying, Its a slap in the face. It woke us up a bit, and were looking forward to getting better.The Spurs were the aggressors, killing the Warriors on the glass 55-35 -- including 21-8 on the offensive boards. Second-chance points also went in favor of the Spurs, 26-4. The Spurs bench outscored Golden States 54-16, led by Jonathon Simmons, who produced a career-high 20 points.dddddddddddde let Simmons come in and destroy us in the first half, and he continued it in the second half. No disrespect to him, but you cant let guys like that come off the bench and get 20, Green explained. Its hard to win like that. I dont care where youre at.Aside from Durant and Curry, the rest of the team was 20-for-50 from the floor. Overall, Golden State was 7-of-33 from 3-point range.Theres a lot of energy in the building. It was a lot before the game, Durant said. Guys may have been a little tense, but hey, thats NBA basketball.Green and Klay Thompson missed point-blank layups, and multiple careless passes equated to 16 turnovers. There was a lackadaisical approach all night from the Warriors, and Kerr took full responsibility for it.I didnt have them ready to play, obviously, the coach said. I think the guys were embarrassed tonight. I know I was.Durant was also active defensively, swatting away two shot attempts at the rim. Spurs forward David Lee was on the receiving end of one of those blocks in the first quarter. He had Durant in the post and tried to shoot over him, but Durant sent his shot into the front-row seats.The crowd erupted with cheers, and Durant let Lee hear about it with a little trash talk. If the one-time MVP was nervous prior to tipoff, it didnt show. The excitement level was enormous from the onset, but it quickly subsided as the game went along. Golden State failed to sustain any sort of momentum, and it cost the team on national television.The Warriors won an NBA-record 73 games last season. Adding a superstar talent such as Durant only intensifies expectations. The Warriors have stressed that theyre up for this mammoth task.We cant panic, Durant said. Obviously, its Game 1 of 82, but we definitely have to get better.And although Durant played well on Tuesday, from here on out, eyes will be fixated on his presence to see if hes more of a hindrance or a positive addition.[Durants] adjusted well, Curry said. Our offense wasnt really an issue tonight, I dont think. We have to shore up the other end. ' ' '