Portugal completed their World Cup warm up with an emphatic 5-1 win against Ireland on Tuesday night. In what had become an important test for the World Cup bound Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo showed little sign of injury or fatigue in playing a significant part in their attack. A brace from Hugo Almeida and a sparkling cameo from Nani sent them off to Brazil, and a much tougher assignment against Germany on Monday, in confident mood.

Portugal’s coach Paulo Bento was a relieved man after seeing his star player come through unscathed. “Yes, it was important that he played and we would not hide it,” he said. “A player like Ronaldo is important for any team, and that’s the case for us. It’s good that he is back.”

In truth Ireland offered ideal opposition — largely blunt in the attack against an occasionally vulnerable Portugal defence, their attempts at pressing Portugal were repeatedly caught out by misdirecting flicks from Ronaldo et al that would repeatedly take multiple over-committed Irish defenders out of the game. And as the goals piled in and Portugal’s confidence grew, Ireland’s ability to offer convincing opposition dwindled.

Ronaldo flitted in and out of the match but did have a decisive part to play in two of the goals. “I think he had a good match alongside what we did collectively. Considering he has been without competitive football for a few weeks, I think he did well,” Bento added.



The tone was set early on. The game was only a minute old when Ronaldo got his first touch, under close attention from his marker, only to backheel the ball in another direction, skip past another challenge and hit a shot from distance. That one was blocked easily enough by David Forde but within a minute Portugal were ahead.

Charging down the right flank, Silvestre Varela had time and space to end a perfect cross to the edge of the six-yard box. Hugo Almeida headed down and past a helpless Forde. The clock stood at two minutes and one second.

Ireland, playing in front of a heavily pro-Portugal crowd, looked understandably tentative in the aftermath of the goal, while their opponents, who had struggled without Ronaldo in a physical second-half against Mexico on Friday, looked suitably buoyed.

The crowd were expectant at every sign of a touch from Ronaldo, and in the 18th minute they nearly got the moment they wanted when he earned a soft free kick against James McClean in perfect free-kick range. Ronaldo’s resulting effort knuckled wickedly and had Forde beaten at his near post, but bounced off that same post to sharp intakes of breath from the fans.

They didn’t have to wait long for a goal though. Ronaldo looked to be stretching to retrieve a ball 25 yards out only to execute a perfect backheel into the path of the overlapping Fabio Coentrao. His attempted cross looped off the foot of the desperately recovering Richard Keogh, over the flailing Forde, before bouncing in off the post.

Ronaldo was involved in the third as well, in the 37th minute, when he met Varela’s cross at the back post with a downward header that the hapless Forde could only parry into the path of the lurking Hugo Almeida to make it 3-0 at half-time.

Ireland started the second-half a little more brightly, trying to play one touch build-up play when they could, and quickly pulling a goal back. David Meyler cut inside from the right and was fouled as he shot from distance. Wes Hoolahan took the free-kick quickly, and slid the ball to the right of the box, where McClean cut back onto his left foot and hit a shot off balance into the far corner.

Just after the hour mark the substitutions began to arrive in numbers and Ronaldo was among a quartet of Portugal players who left the field in the 65th minute, accompanied by cheers that contained more than a little relief the Portuguese talisman had left the game apparently healthy.

In the ensuing shake up Ireland briefly looked to have the better of the play as the game opened up, but hopes for an unlikely comeback were ended in the 77th minute when two of Portugal’s subs combined to seal the game. Hugo Almeida had won the ball well in midfield, springing Portugal forward. Nani brought down the resultant crossfield ball first time and set up Vieirinha to score at the second attempt after his initial header was blocked.

In the 83rd min Coentrao completed the rout, racing into the left of the box from a Nani pass and squeezing the ball past the advancing Forde to make it 5-1.

A perfect send off

The Portuguese have certainly completed their final preparations under intense scrutiny. A crowd of 46,063, boosted greatly by the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, turned out at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. It follows 56,292 turning up at New England’s Gillette Stadium on Friday, to watch them take on Mexico — a game that Ronaldo sat out injured.



Ronaldo has been a media draw all week — being photographed throwing a football with the New York Jets at training on Monday, and dominating all the coverage of their tour. Much of that coverage has ended up focusing on his ongoing injury troubles, and with the MetLife Stadium surface being a potentially treacherous grass laid on turf, and Portugal facing a physical Ireland side, there was speculation we wouldn’t see Ronaldo at all this evening.

In the event Ronaldo did make the starting line up, and drew the first big cheer of the evening when he appeared on the field to warm up, with his left knee lightly bandaged, and while there were a couple of slips and doubtful looks at the turf in the first half, the player look very comfortable.

The game was the last in a series of pre-World Cup friendlies throughout the US — organized by a patchwork of individual federations such as the English FA, private promoters (Portugal vs Ireland was promoted by Relevent Sports, who also promote the summer club competition the International Champions Cup), and a “Road to Brazil” program involving ten federations, and run by the marketing arm of MLS and US Soccer, Soccer United Marketing.

In all 12 different World Cup bound teams have been playing at various venues around the US over the past two weeks — taking advantage of the timezones and in places comparable climate that the US shares with Brazil, as well as a sports infrastructure well-suited for low key preparations at high level facilities.

Such considerations are in the rear view mirror now. The teams are headed to Brazil, and for Portugal, Germany loom on the horizon.

Portugal: Patricio; Amorim, Costa, Neto, Coentrao; William, Meireles, Moutinho; Varela, Ronaldo (c), H Almeida

Subs: Eduardo, Beto, Alves, Pepe, Veloso, Vieirinha, Eder, Rafa, Nani, Almeida, Pereira, Postiga

Ireland: Forde; Kelly, Keogh, Pearce, Ward; Hendrick, Meyler; McGeady, Hoolahan, McClean; Walters (c)

Subs: Elliot, Duffy, Green, Pilkington, Quinn, Keane, Long, Doyle, Cox, Lawlor

