Portugal’s Gonçalo Guedes, Bernardo Silva, and Cristiano Ronaldo, celebrate the opening goal during a friendly match between Algeria in Lisbon, Portugal.
(AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Portugal cruised to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their final preparation match before traveling to Russia for the World Cup.
Portugal forward Gonçalo Guedes made a strong claim for a place in Fernando Santos’ starting line-up, by scoring twice tonight at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo, playing in his first match since helping Real Madrid win their third consecutive Champions League final had a goal disallowed after he was caught offside.
Portugal took the lead in the 17th minute after William Carvalho hit a long pass over the Algeria defense and Bernando Silva headed the ball into Guedes’ path allowing him to score.
Ronaldo set up the second goal in the 37th minute when he hurried down the left flank and provided a pinpoint cross which Bruno Fernandes met with a powerful header for his first international goal.
Portugal made it 3-0 in the 55th minute, it was almost an exact replica of Fernandes’ goal. Raphaël Guerreiro ran down the left and Guedes met his cross with a driven header into the back of the net.
Substitute João Mário scored a goal in the 85th minute, but it was disallowed by video review because of a hand-ball by Guedes.
Fernando Santos experimented with a 4-2-3-1 formation which made it very difficult for Algeria to defend against. The new formation allowed Silva, Fernandes and Guedes to attack, while Guerreiro contributed with his crosses on the left flank.
Portugal now head to Russia to prepare for their first match in Group B on June 15th against Iberian rivals Spain.
2018 World Cup
Portugal
