Portugal has won its penultimate friendly ahead of the World Cup. Against Chile, the Portuguese converted their dominance into goals after the break; prior to that, Rafael Leao had committed a potentially costly error.
Portugal’s national team coach Robert Martinez started Cristiano Ronaldo in the penultimate friendly before the World Cup in North America, but left out the newly crowned Champions League winners from Paris St. Germain: Joao Neves, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, and Goncalo Ramos watched the match from the stands.
The Chileans had missed out on the World Cup finals for the third time in a row. At Portugal’s Estadio Nacional, they faced intense pressure from the start, with Portugal dominating at will. The first chances came immediately: Ruben Dias saw his header denied by a brilliant save from Vigouroux (4th), and Rafael Leao hit the post (9th).
CR7 goal disallowed – Rafael Leao sent off
Portugal had 73 percent possession in the first half. Even the team’s star player couldn’t prevent the score from remaining 0-0 at halftime: Cristiano Ronaldo was first denied by Vigouroux (18th) and then by the offside rule—his supposed goal didn’t count (36th).
After the water break midway through the first half, the Portuguese were noticeably less threatening. Apart from Ronaldo’s offside goal, the home side created hardly any chances, as the Chilean defense was now much more effective. Both teams provided an unsightly conclusion to the first half in stoppage time: During a scuffle near the Chilean end line, Rafael Leao and Roman clashed. Both were shown red cards, meaning both teams started the second half with only ten men on the field. For Rafael Leao, the altercation could also have consequences for the tournament: a suspension could apply to World Cup matches as well.
Goncalo Guedes opens the scoring, Bruno Fernandes adds another
After the break, the Chileans initially made the game more open, while the Portuguese, who had made six changes to their lineup, first had to regroup. They took the lead just shy of the hour mark, however: Ruben Neves played a pinpoint pass to Goncalo Guedes, and the striker slotted the ball past Vigouroux into the net (58′).
In the final quarter of an hour, the Portuguese finally sealed the victory: Bruno Fernandes made it 2-0 from outside the box (75′). Although the Chileans had more possession than they did before the break, they remained harmless in attack. This didn’t change until stoppage time, but the goal by substitute Cepeda came too late (90’+2).
In their final warm-up match before the World Cup, Portugal will face Nigeria on Wednesday at 9:45 p.m. Chile will take on the DR Congo the day before at 4 p.m.—who, incidentally, are the Iberians’ first group-stage opponent. The opening match of the tournament for both teams will be their head-to-head clash on June 17 at 7 p.m.