France 0-0 Portugal: 5 talking points as European heavyweights share the spoils in underwhelming stalemate | UEFA Nations League 2020-21

#3 Fernando Santos' late substitutions raise questions

Late substitutions indicate Fernando Santos took a cautious approach

In the friendly game against Spain last week, Portuguese manager Fernando Santos made five of his six substitutions before the final quarter of the match, giving some fringe players a chance to flex their muscle. Yet, in a high-stakes game against France, he waited until the final few minutes of the match to inject fresh legs into the game.

With the match deadlocked at 0-0, he could've brought on players like Joao Moutinho and Renato Sanches slightly earlier to infuse more creativity into the side. His decision to deny Andre Silva a single minute was baffling too.

The reigning European champions were clearly struggling to break down France's stoic defence, so bringing on the Eintracht Frankfurt striker might have maximised their attacking potential.

Instead, Santos made four substitutions only after the 80th minute, three coming in the 89th minute in a triple-change! This suggests he was just content to eke out a point rather than go for all three, which was quite timid of him.

#4 Cristiano Ronaldo's wait for more goals continue

Ronaldo fails to add to his tally once again

Considering he's just eight behind the world record for most international goals, you can imagine how much Cristiano Ronaldo was itching to get there.

The Juventus talisman must have surely hoped to add a few more to his 101 strikes heading into this international break but must be disappointed to have drawn a blank once again.

He played for 70 minutes of the friendly against Spain, only to be frustrated. He couldn't find any luck against France either, despite playing the entirety of the match.

We all know that Ronaldo is eventually going to surpass Ali Daei's tally of 109 goals but he may have to wait for a while to do that.

#5 Portugal and France will have everything to play for in return fixture

Portugal host France next month to decide group winner

France and Portugal arguably have the best squad in Europe. Stacked to the rafters with world-class talents, the European heavyweights are among the top favourites for the season but only one can get through the group.

This might be decided in next month's return leg in Lisbon, which should be more openly contested and should witness more goal-mouth action.

Both sides are level on points in Group A3, with seven each, and are expected to pick up maximum available points from their next fixtures against Croatia and Sweden respectively.