Portugal didn't play well in the first half last night either and Nani once again saw very little of the ball.

In the second half however, it was far more exciting, with Portugal really pushing forward and starting to play some great football because they were 1-0 down and had to go for it. Nani got on the ball a few times and delivered some good crosses into the box, and also displayed moments of Ronaldo-like magic.

One thing I noticed though is that his team-mates never passed the ball to him when he was in a good position, in space, and I could tell this was really frustrating him. Many times I was saying to myself, "lay it off to Nani", but no, the individual kept pressing on himself, eventually losing possession. He didn't get anywhere near the amount of time on the ball he should have, and this was really suiting Holland as it made their job alot easier.

He lost his footing too on more than on occassion, and this is a problem Ronaldo used to have too, because he was wearing blade boots instead of studs, and I'd be sure Nani is wearing blades too at this moment in time.

One thing about Nani though is he can lose his cool quite easily over nothing incidents. He threw his arm at one guy and was lucky to just get away with a telling off. He reminded me of Rooney in that aspect when he was younger. He was also going down over soft challenges and looking for free kicks that weren't, alot like Ronaldo used be in his infant years. Fergie will no doubt get those sides out of his game.

The quality of Nani is clear to be seen though, and I have no doubt that under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson and coaching he will receive at United, that another star will be born.

Drenthe looked quite good almost David's like, nani again looked quite lightweight and didn't impress too much. He also struggled to go past players, hopefully he is just tired after a long season.

I thought he showed flashes of brilliance. I agree he did not see much of the ball yesterday but his running off the ball and first touch is class but clearly had problems with balance.

Red Dawn Good comment. Unfortunatly a lot of people don't see football like we do...if you see Fletchers case. Everybody was on his case and they were quite right but at the end of the season he played a couple of good games and thats it( enough to convince them). Ronaldo had a great season people were comenting that he was the best in the world so on but at the end of the season the guy had two, three poor games and thats it..he wasn't any longer the best in the world. Nani is good but he is not the new Cristiano Ronaldo. Don't expect a player like Ronaldo to come every second year. I would be pleased if in Portugal we can produce a player like him every 10, 15 years. Ronaldo was worth defending, I hope the same goes for Nani.

Its true that Nani didn't look too effective in the U21 match last night, but this is not the stage to judge his potential as a future league player.

Many players who perform in tournament matches, after a busy season, are unable to find their best form. I think he looked a bit fatigued and I'm sure he'll benefit from a break before pre-season training begins.

Lets be patient with this signing, and not fall in to the media generated trap of making overly hasty comparisons between him and Ronaldo.

I think Holland made Portugal look bad and one player alone wasn't going to be the difference. However Nani never seem to stop trying and his crosses are not that bad. With United he will have a lot of support and his confidence will get better. I wish United will take notice of the Dutch leftwinger. He's got amazing speed with fantastic crosses and very good passes.

Again Red you reading Nani quite well. I can understand his frustation because like in EURO2006 finals Portugal had a great team but like that coach he can't handle such good quality and they weren't/aren't able to pass the group stages. I'm suprised that you are so positive about his performance because he was far from his best. I blame again both portuguese coaches. Scolari: because he played him against a team from Kuwait( JOKE) after using him at the qualifiers. The U21 coach couldn't do anything about that because Scolari is the general, the Major the president and the last coach got the sack because he was talking too much. the botton line is that he is tired and because of his move to United and the need to prove his value creats lots of frustation. Can promise you that he is not a bully player and shurely not at all like Rooney. He is a bit of a light weight but doesn't fall as easy as CR did in the first couple of seasons. You say SAF, I say Queiros, he is the professor and when it comes down to young kids, he is the man: just ask Figo, Rui Costa, Pinto, Couto, Bahia, etc.

Sorry to be the one to crash the party but I was so disappointed by what I have seen of Nani both for the 21s and his club. I am sure the kid has bundles of talent but his is very rough around the edges and will require alot of work developing his all round game. The only comparison I can make with Ronaldo when he first arrived at OT is he entertains for sake of entertaining without being effective. If people are expecting Nani to make the same impact as ronaldo did against Bolton on his debut they will be left disapponted.
I predict he will stuggle to adapt and if, as his own media suggest, his suspect mentality kicks in he will want a premature move away. I hope I am wrong, I really do but I just have a strong hunch on this one I am afraid.

Valtinho the euro2006 the uro was in 2004 old chap,2006 was the world cup my old chap.

GIVE HIM TIME AND HE WILL SHINE.