Ronaldo leads rampant Portugal to big win
Cristiano Ronaldo had a hand in a goal and hit a post on his return as Portugal concluded their 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ preparations with a 5-1 win over the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday.
The Real Madrid striker, who missed his country's previous two warm-up games because of thigh and knee injuries, was not at his brilliant best for long periods of a one-sided friendly in the United States. But coach Paulo Bento will just be relieved to see his captain and talisman back after an injury layoff that had sparked fears that Ronaldo might not be fit for Brazil.
Ronaldo was substituted on 65 minutes, but it appeared to have been a planned change and there was no indication that he was suffering any ill effects from his injury problems. He was replaced by Real team-mate Pepe, a key defender and another whose World Cup preparations have been badly hindered by injury.
"Ronaldo played a good match, especially when considering that he has not played competitively for two weeks," said Bento. "Players like him are important for any team, and that is the case with ourselves too. It's good to have him back."
Portugal, who were to fly to Brazil immediately after the match, start their World Cup assault against Germany on 16 June in Group G - the so-called "Group of Death" - which also includes the USA and Ghana.
0 comments:
Post a Comment