How did Tiago Ilori do in the U21 Euro Championships

by  on  in All, Analysis, Analysis, Liverpool, Player Analysis

As I write this, Portugal have just been defeated on penalties by Sweden in the U21 Euros, a shock result as Portugal had been hotly tipped to go all the way, especially after beating Germany 5-0. One player in Portugal’s team who plenty of LFC fans had been keeping an eye on is of course centre-back Tiago Ilori who signed for the reds in 2013 from Sporting CP and is yet to make an official appearance. Ilori started the tournament on the back of an up and down season on loan at Bordeaux, halted by injuries and he  fell out of favour with manager Willy Sagnol, making his last appearance for Les Girondins all the way back in April. To say he had a poor season would be unfair, as he had some very good games, but it obviously could’ve gone better.

Nevertheless, Tiago made Rui Jorge’s final 23 and was first choice left sided centre back in his starting XI, a position Ilori’s played several times before despite primarily being a right sided centre-back since he is right footed. Ilori linked up seamlessly in the middle of defence with Sporting CP’s ever reliable Paulo Oliveira, he didn’t play like someone who hadn’t played a minute of football in 2 months, in fact he was outstanding. It is a testament to his ability that he did not concede once all tournament.

Portugal’s first game of the tournament was against England, in a highly anticipated game, with Tottenham striker and Premier League golden boot runner-up Harry Kane starting for Southgate’s men. Perhaps most LFC fans watching this game were doing so hoping to catch a glimpse of new signing Danny Ings, but it was their so called forgotten man who impressed. Ilori and Portugal notched their first clean sheet and victory of the tournament and Harry Kane barely got a sniff largely thanks to the Liverpool defender.

In the second game of the tournament, Ilori was yet again faced with a highly rated forward in the Italian Domenico Berardi and once again dealt with him expertly. Portugal didn’t win the game, but Ilori put in an even better performance than he had against England and got another clean sheet in the bag. Unfortunately, after starting the third group game against Sweden in the same way he’d played the first two games, he was forced off with a thigh injury in the 29th minute. Luckily, scans showed there was no muscle tear and he was named in the starting XI for the semi-final against Germany, however he felt his injury in the warm up and was replaced in the line up by Sporting CP’s  Tobias Figueiredo whilst he was resigned to being comforted by his father and brother on the bench.

Portugal went on to beat Germany 5-0 with an incredible display. Sporting CP club mates Tobias Figueiredo and Paulo Oliveira were a flawless centre-back pairing. It says a lot about how highly Tiago Ilori is rated that despite that performance, despite that pairing and despite fitness worries he automatically regained his spot for the final. He repaid Rui Jorge’s faith in him by putting in his best performance of the tournament and getting another clean sheet. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for Portugal, but Ilori didn’t put a foot wrong. From 70 minutes right until the end of extra time Sweden were pressing hard for a winner but Tiago was having none of it. Statistically, the final was his best game, with an astonishing 91% pass accuracy from 59 passes, 4 aerials won and only 1 foul conceded (WhoScored data).

A lot is spoken about how speed is Ilori’s biggest asset, largely due to lazy conclusions drawn by a quick google search of his name which talk about him breaking records for his pace many years ago. Whilst he is fast, Ilori has many other greater assets to boast, namely his range of passing, aerial ability and knack of being able to pull off a last ditch tackle and calmly and casually  diffusing  the situation no matter how certain a striker looks to score.

There is talk that LFC are about to offer Tiago Ilori a new contract after being impressed with what they’ve seen of him during this tournament. He is definitely ready to be part of the squad but another loan for game time could be beneficial, with Sunderland and QPR allegedly interested. On the other hand, loaning defenders to smaller English clubs doesn’t tend to go well for us and from a personal perspective Tiago will most likely want to stay and make a long term home for himself here as he will become a father in August. I believe Tiago would thrive alongside somebody like Sakho, but it’s important that we allow him to make mistakes – he’s not the finished article, but he’s got everything he needs to become it.

Tiago Ilori will go to bed gutted tonight, but his performances at this U21 Euros have given himself, LFC and LFC fans cause for optimism and plenty to look forward to.

Big thanks to Heather for the article, make sure you give her a follow on twitter here.

Max

Max

I'm 19 years old, and have a real passion for Liverpool. I enjoy expressing my views about football. I am the owner of fanscorners.com and one of the presenters at The Red Corner.
Max

Latest posts by Max (see all)