João Félix is gaining weight in his team … from his work. The Atlético player completed almost the entire match against France (he was substituted in the 88th minute) in a goalless match where he had to show his version more withdrawn and with more tasks in his own area.
Fernando Santos placed a team with Cristiano en punta and Bernardo Silva and João Félix on the wings that, despite the offensive profile of the three players, the requirement on the sides was that they put on the overalls to help the sides to stop the current world champion. So, João Félix formed a double winger on many occasions to help Guerreiro on the left and on some occasions Semedo on the right with the clear mission that there would be no French numerical superiority.
An uncomfortable game, with little brightness for the 20-year-old footballer but where You could see the maturity, discipline and tactical and defensive capacity that he has been gaining with Simeone at Atlético. João Felix He could barely finish off a couple of times looking for the goal, one from outside the easy area for Lloris and another acrobatic after a lateral foul where Cristiano was also prepared to finish. In addition, every time the Portuguese tried to control his back and start driving he was the object of a fault, since the French were mentalized not to let him run.
A very rough game for João Félix, with a lot of defensive responsibility and few appearances in the rival area, but that It can be used to cut yourself in this type of top-level matches with a script similar to what one might expect in Atlético's Champions League debut at the Allianz Arena against Bayern. While it is true that the player himself and any fan like to see him more freely in attack, being able to exploit all his quality, they are necessary resources at the highest level. For now he has already started in the three matches of the Nations League in Portugal (not so in the friendly against Spain where Santos rotated the team) and made his debut as a scorer against Croatia. In total there are 9 caps.
Next Wednesday he will have a new opportunity with his team against Sweden before returning to training with Atlético, where he will barely have hours to prepare for the match against Celta (Saturday, 4:00 p.m. in Balaídos). João Félix is in a year where he wants to take a step forward after his first season of acclimatization to the club and for the moment he is achieving it, being the most decisive player in the league debut against Granada and also the most successful despite the draw in Huesca, something that has served to be named the best rojiblanco player of September.