By Stephen Fottrell

BBC Sport, Covilha, Portugal

Cameroon struggled to make any impact after Eto'o was sent off Cameroon captain Samuel Eto'o was sent off on his return to the Indomitable Lions side, as his team slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Portugal. The Inter Milan striker was dismissed in the first half for a second bookable offence in quick succession after returning to the side for their final two World Cup warm-up games. A frustrated and agitated-looking Eto'o received his marching orders for a high tackle on Portugal left-back Duda, immediately after being booked by the referee for protesting, following the opener from Raul Meireles. The Cameroonians looked unsettled after their captain's departure, and were well beaten by a Portuguese team who looked a lot more polished and confident ahead of their departure for South Africa - in stark contrast to their visitors. The Indomitable Lions are now six games without a win, but drew some little comfort from an impressive debut for German-born striker Eric Choupo-Moting, who has just been cleared to play for the west Africans. Tottenham Hotspur defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto also put in an impressive performance on the left, after a shaky start. However, Paul Le Guen's team looked low on confidence and ideas throughout, grabbing a single goal through substitute Achille Webo's speculative shot which ended up in Portuguese goalkeeper Eduardo's bottom left-hand corner. Portugal were a team on the trail of a confidence-boosting performance themselves after a demoralising 0-0 draw against Cape Verde last week, and duly found one, with Cristiano Ronaldo producing an assured captain's performance, creating most of his team's opportunities. Ronaldo is still seeking his first goal for his country in almost two years, but he saw his former Manchester United team-mate Nani produce a fine chip for the winner, after Meireles had grabbed a brace.



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