When a World Cup ends, it also means the beginning of another 4-year cycle. The 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo is not sure if he will be able to play in the 2026 World Cup, but his midfield partner, João Mario, 30, may have a better chance.
While leading the Portuguese Premier League goalscorer list as a midfielder, while equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's record with six goals and five consecutive goals in the Champions League, Joao Mario proved that he still has a place in the national team as one of the attacking cores of the big dark horse Benfica.
01. Former European Cup champion team No. 10: Return to the Portuguese Premier League to find your best self
a. Former European Cup winner core player: failed at Inter
In 2016, João Mario, who was only 23 years old at the time, was not only included in the Portuguese national team's squad for the European Championship with his outstanding performance in the Portuguese Premier League, but also wore the number 10.
He played all seven races and was one of Portugal's key forces in reaching the top of Europe.
After the European Championship, Inter offered a sky-high transfer fee of 45 million euros to bring him to Serie A. This figure equalled Vieri and became Inter's all-time champion.
In his first season, he played 32 times and delivered a report card of 3 goals and 7 assists. However, in the following 2017-2018 season, Spalletti played Joao Mario as a substitute and made only six starts throughout the year.
In January 2018, he began to wander from West Ham United in the Premier League to Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League, and even went to his old club Sporting Portugal, and finally signed with Benfica when his contract expired.
b. The top scorer of the Champions League: 5 consecutive goals equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record
Back at Benfica last season, Joo Mario's performance was tepid, and as a result, he entered the World Cup year as if he had been a different person, playing at a very high level.
He has contributed six goals and two assists in eight Champions League games, especially scoring in five consecutive games, allowing him to equalize Cristiano Ronaldo's record for a Portuguese player in the Champions League (after the restructuring, there were also seven consecutive goals by Eusebio before the restructuring).
At the same time, he led the team to the last eight of the Champions League, and will face the old home Inter in the next round.
Surprisingly, in the list of Portuguese Premier League goalscorers, the number one is João Mario. He beat Gonzalo Ramos, the "successor of Cristiano Ronaldo", who is the focus of many giants, and led with 17 goals.
Although 7 of them are penalties, as a midfielder, it is still very rare to score a number of goals to this height.
In this season's Champions League, João Mario, who scored six goals, scored five from penalties. It also allowed him to surpass the record of four penalties scored in a single season held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi to become the all-time first.
However, his only Champions League sports score is worth thousands of dollars. It was precisely this long-range shot that allowed Benfica to beat Paris with the advantage of away goals and finish first in the group.
Because of this goal, Benfica was drawn and successfully advanced to the last eight of the Champions League. At the same time, Paris faced Bayern Munich, and ended up in the last 16 of the Champions League for the second consecutive year.
02. Can run and run against good: He is a very modern organizer
a. Can run + pass the ball well
João Mario is positioned between midfield and right winger at Benfica because he has a certain amount of strength and confrontation, as well as good speed.
Technically capable of carrying the ball with his back, he can send straight balls, and he can also pull to the wing to send high-quality crosses and crosses.
As you can see from the chart below, the initial starting point of this wave of attack was a pass from right-back Bach to João Mario in the back.
At that time, Benfica's attack seemed to have reached a dead end, and there was no chance to break the defense. As a result, Joao Mario returned the pass and turned over to the wing, which quickly cleared up the situation.
Benfica's midfielders are technically good, and after successive wall crashes, Enzo Fernandez (this is the Champions League group stage to Juve, who had not yet moved to Chelsea) sent a straight plug, looking for Joao Mario, who tore open Juve's left defence with a run without the ball.
It is clear from the camera that the bright passing of the Benfica team and the movement of João Mario turned the stalemate that was originally stuck in positional warfare into an instant counterattack and defense.
Joo Mario's cross was of high quality, but Rafa couldn't play well and missed a good chance to score.
Benfica's attacking focus is the trio up front: centre-forward Gonzalo Ramos, forward Rafa and right-wing multi-faceted João Mario.
This time, although Ramos failed to win the first point of the header, then Rafa took the ball and split the side, and the quality of Joao Mario's final cross was too high, allowing the following Rafa to cleverly eject the goal with his heel.
b. Attack Trident: João Mario does the most tandem and dirty work
From the 12 key offensive statistics, it can be seen that in addition to passing and shooting averages per game, João Mario is all in the top 10 of the Portuguese Premier League.
Three of them are the first in the Portuguese Premier League (red box), and 4 are in the top 5 of the Portuguese Premier League in attacking statistics.
João Mario has scored 23 goals in the Portuguese Premier League and Champions League this season, and although 12 of them have come from penalties, his attacking ability is still very strong.
This time, despite being blown offside, João Mario, who followed up in the middle, scored with a beautiful heel, demonstrating his strong forward ability, imagination and adaptability.
In this attack, Rafa made a mistake after taking the ball in the ribs, and it was João Mario who was the first to close the counter-attack.
Benfica counter-attacked on the spot after the break, Gilberto created a penalty and Joo Mario hit the penalty.
03. Large range of activities: can attack every corner of the court
a. A large range of activities is an advantage
Averaged 1.8 key passes per game in the Champions League, 4 great chances in 8 games and 2 assists.
João Mario is characterized by a large range of motion, and the heatmap shows that he is highlighted on the left and right sides. In such a situation, if you can send a good pass or score your own shot, then the threat is even greater.
Joo Mariola's passing from the back of the wing was good, and the timing of the pitch without the ball was great.
Benfica has strong technical ability in the midfield and has a high level of continuous passing. Whether it is hitting the wall to match, or the direct plug of the relay, it can make the opponent defenseless.
This wave started with central defender Antonio, Rafa relayed a wonderful pass, and Joo Mario in the box handled it very calmly.
It was a great opportunity to pass back to the following back Florentino, but unfortunately his teammate flew away.
João Mario is characterized by his wide range of movement, not only on the right wing, but also on the centre and left.
He can dribble and pass the ball while promoting, and Joo Mario and Rafa are two key attacking starting points for Benfica.
b. Return to the Portuguese Premier League and become part of the system
The failure at Inter is still related to the inability to integrate into the system. João Mario is not the type of individual attacking type with the ball, he is a technical sapper and a very good team player.
After returning to the Portuguese Premier League, his teammate's passing skills and awareness were better, which also made him feel like a fish in water.
Like this wave of offensive and defensive conversions, Joo Mario split the ball to Ramos is a simple pass. But it was this wave of three-man counter-attack, and when Ramos' cross was found in the back Rafa, Joo Mario had already come to the penalty spot to pick it up.
The former did not pass the ball and scored by shooting himself. If you choose to pass the ball, Joo Mario also has a high probability of scoring a goal.
Similarly, this wave of counter-attacks, Joo Mario's small straight block, to Ramos, who hit the ribs of the box, the latter's beautiful dribbling and bursting goal was the result of Benfica's system.
Conclusion:
The 30-year-old João Mario is still at the peak of his career, because the World Cup in Qatar is held in winter, so three years later there will be a new world football feast.
Compared to the 41-year-old Ronaldo, Joao Mario clearly has a better chance of playing. Whether it is center Gonzalo Ramos or defensive rookie Antonio, they are good partners for João Mario. Who can guarantee that three years from now, the younger Portugal will not win the World Cup?