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Portugal beats China 2-0 in friendly
Source: Agencies |
March 4, 2010, Thursday
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GOALS in each half from Hugo Almeida and Liedson gave Portugal a 2-0 win over China in a pre-World Cup friendly yesterday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, playing his first game for Portugal after missing three matches through injury, counter-attacked down the left flank and sent over a low cross for Almeida to sidefoot home in the 36th minute.
Liedson added Portugal's second in the last minute, deflecting a Joao Moutinho shot into the net.
It was Portugal's sixth straight win and the last game before coach Carlos Queiroz's announcement on May 9 of his World Cup squad.
Poor finishing, though, meant the Portuguese couldn't translate their dominance into goals.
"We could have scored five more," Queiroz said. "This game taught us some things as we get ourselves ready for the World Cup."
The slender margin of victory suggested Portugal still needs to sharpen its attacking edge before the finals, where it is in Group G with Brazil, Ivory Coast and North Korea.
Portugal, currently ranked sixth in the world, was coming off a faltering World Cup qualifying campaign that included a four-game winless streak. Playoff wins against Bosnia-Herzegovina sent Portugal to the tournament in South Africa.
Portugal had China on the ropes in the first half and created numerous goalscoring chances. However, skewed shots and some superb reflex saves by Chinese goalkeeper Lu Zhang restricted Portugal to a 1-0 lead.
Nani twice had time inside the Chinese area to set up a clear shot, while Almeida and Ronaldo were both denied by Lu. Left-back Duda hit the bar with a thundering free-kick in the 39th minute.
It was mostly one-way traffic except for Bo Qu's break after 12 minutes when he found a large gap in Portugal's left flank. Hao Rong forced Eduardo into his first save three minutes before halftime.
A weak second-half performance by the home side, after Portugal made five changes and the sting went out of its attack, set the home crowd jeering.
Midfielder Raul Meireles fired a thundering shot against the post in the 67th in a rare second-half threat.
Cristiano Ronaldo, playing his first game for Portugal after missing three matches through injury, counter-attacked down the left flank and sent over a low cross for Almeida to sidefoot home in the 36th minute.
Liedson added Portugal's second in the last minute, deflecting a Joao Moutinho shot into the net.
It was Portugal's sixth straight win and the last game before coach Carlos Queiroz's announcement on May 9 of his World Cup squad.
Poor finishing, though, meant the Portuguese couldn't translate their dominance into goals.
"We could have scored five more," Queiroz said. "This game taught us some things as we get ourselves ready for the World Cup."
The slender margin of victory suggested Portugal still needs to sharpen its attacking edge before the finals, where it is in Group G with Brazil, Ivory Coast and North Korea.
Portugal, currently ranked sixth in the world, was coming off a faltering World Cup qualifying campaign that included a four-game winless streak. Playoff wins against Bosnia-Herzegovina sent Portugal to the tournament in South Africa.
Portugal had China on the ropes in the first half and created numerous goalscoring chances. However, skewed shots and some superb reflex saves by Chinese goalkeeper Lu Zhang restricted Portugal to a 1-0 lead.
Nani twice had time inside the Chinese area to set up a clear shot, while Almeida and Ronaldo were both denied by Lu. Left-back Duda hit the bar with a thundering free-kick in the 39th minute.
It was mostly one-way traffic except for Bo Qu's break after 12 minutes when he found a large gap in Portugal's left flank. Hao Rong forced Eduardo into his first save three minutes before halftime.
A weak second-half performance by the home side, after Portugal made five changes and the sting went out of its attack, set the home crowd jeering.
Midfielder Raul Meireles fired a thundering shot against the post in the 67th in a rare second-half threat.
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