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18.11.2014 » Portugal 1-0 Argentina. An unlikely hero at Old Trafford
Portugal has beaten Argentina for the first time in 42 years and they've done it essentially because of an unlikely hero who decided to rise in Old Trafford to score the winning goal already in stoppage time. Portugal defeated Argentina by 1-0 and even though we had both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the pitch during the first half of the game, the goalscorer end up being a Portuguese youngster called Raphael Guerreiro. After tonight's friendly, Portugal now only returns to action on March 29 of 2015, in a tough EURO 2016 qualifier against Serbia. In the meanwhile, it's time for everyone to return to their clubs, as Real Madrid will have to prepare a visit to Eibar this Saturday afternoon, while in London, an exciting Arsenal vs Manchester United will be the headliner in the Barclays Premier League.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Portugal vs Argentina
Portugal 1-0 Argentina - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Argentina:
Fernando Santos has earned his 3rd straight win at the helm of the Portuguese National Team and even though this Tuesday's game was nothing more than a friendly, beating Argentina in English soil has surely pleased the 60-year old manager. Portugal won their last 3 fixtures with the exact same result (1-0), but unlike in the previous two games, this time it wasn't Cristiano Ronaldo who decided the tie in favor of the "Selecção"...
Coming off a quite competitive game played just four days ago, the Portuguese National Team has naturally presented a few changes in their lineup when compared to the starting eleven that stepped onto the pitch in the Algarve, last Friday. Beto replaced Rui Patrício in goal, while the defensive line was formed by Tiago Gomes, Pepe, Bruno Alves and José Bosingwa. Fernando Santos then tried to pack his midfield by lining up Tiago, André Gomes, João Moutinho, Danny and Nani all at once, hoping that this group of men would perform well as a supporting cast for the main star of the team, Cristiano Ronaldo. Things wouldn't work out exactly as they were planned though...
The first 45 minutes of the game showed us an Argentinian Team proving to be more stronger and determined than Portugal and it wasn't that surprising to see that by the time we had reached the half-time, it had been the "Albiceleste" who created more and better goal-scoring chances. Di María had a great opportunity to score in his new home stadium right in the 6th minute, but his left-foot shot ended up going a few inches wide. Six minutes later, it was Lionel Messi's turn to shake the game, but the best he managed to do from a narrow angle was to hit the post... Both teams headed back to the locker rooms knowing that in such a closed game, whoever scored first would probably get the win as well.
The second-half started with what was a predictable but still painful blow for most of the fans watching the game. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were substituted during the break, leading us to think that before this game, both Fernando Santos and Tato Martino have probably agreed with Real Madrid and Barcelona to give the two superstars some valuable and significant rest. With the two strongest FIFA Ballon d'Or candidates off the pitch, either we want or not, the game also lost most of its interest...
Nevertheless, it was still a Portugal vs Argentina that was being played in Old Trafford and there were plenty of other less shining stars looking to impress in a stage once baptized as the "Theatre of Dreams". The decisive moment in this game took place precisely when we were stepping into stoppage time, in a play where the "Selecção" basically caught Argentina completely off guard and already very disorganized. Ricardo Quaresma picked up a rebound on the right, sent in a cross to the heart of Argentina's box and saw Raphael Guerreiro heading the ball past Guzman to make it 1-0 for Portugal. This was only Guerreiro's second cap for his country and his first goal ever in international stages. What a night for the 20-year old youngster, currently playing for Llorient in France.
Portugal line-up vs Argentina:
Goalkeeper: Beto
Defenders: Tiago Gomes, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Bosingwa
Midfielders: Tiago, João Moutinho, André Gomes, Danny
Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Portugal
|
vs
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Argentina
|
1 |
Goals |
0 |
3 |
Shots |
9 |
1 |
Shots on goal |
3 |
2 |
Corner kicks |
4 |
19 |
Fouls commited |
18 |
2 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
- |
Ball possession |
- |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game will be a league fixture against Eibar, scheduled for next Saturday, November 22. You can watch Juventus live stream, Eibar vs Real Madrid, Barcelona vs Sevilla, Arsenal vs Manchester United, Chelsea vs WBA, and Bayern Munchen vs Hoffenheim, all matches provided from our live streaming game pages.
Real Madrid next game:
Eibar vs Real Madrid kick-off time (22-11-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+6: 23:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 18:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 17:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-4: 13:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 12:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8 09:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+7: 00:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / bbc.com / nbcsports.com / usatoday.com
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