Raphael Guerreiro headed the winner in added time after a second half riddled with substitutions and missing the excitement factor provided by the game’s two biggest players who did not reappear after halftime.

With Messi and Ronaldo on the field, Argentina showed what coach Gerardo Martino is looking for from his team, a quick-passing possession game with fast thrusts forward.

They dominated the opening half-hour in which they could have scored at least twice, the first chance a shot from Angel Di Maria, playing at the home of his club Manchester United, that skimmed the outside of the post after he was set up by Messi.

Argentina’s closest effort was in the 11th minute when Messi beat the offside trap to reach a through ball on the right and came in at a tight angle, his low shot from the edge of the six-yard box beating Beto but glancing off the post and back into play.

As the half-hour approached, Messi crossed, Javier Pastore headed and Beto dived to save before Ronaldo raised the decibels in the stadium when he backheeled a neat pass to Bosingwa then raced into the box to take the right back’s cross but his shot after two dummies went over the bar.

It was the signal for Portugal to come out of their shell for the last 15 minutes of the half and put the Argentine defence under pressure but Martino‘s side managed to play their way out of trouble.

After a lukewarm start to the second half, Di Maria had a shot from outside the box saved by Beto before Carlos Tevez came on for Gonzalo Higuain to boos from fans of his former team Manchester United but he did not make an impact.

The game failed to pick up its first half rhythm and quality, despite an end-to-end flow, thanks to the high number of substitutions as every player in the two squads appeared to be getting a chance to play.

Portugal looked like they wanted it more towards the end and a lucky bounce set up Ricardo Quaresma to cross from the right and give substitute Raphael Guerreiro a free header for the only billing at the goal.
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Fitness permitting, the 29-year-old, who is still revered by the United faithful, will captain a Portugal side that will face World Cup finalists Argentina in a friendly encounter.

Ronaldo proved his worth to the Seleccao on Friday evening when he scored the only goal of the game against Armenia to give his side a critical three points in Euro 2016 qualifying.

Yet, while Ronaldo is known to yearn for the spotlight, he will have to share it on Tuesday evening with a certain Lionel Messi.

Indeed, it will be the first time that the pair have come face to face since Ronaldo was forced to deny claims in Spanish journalist Guillem Balague’s book that he has a derogatory nickname for the Barcelona star when inside the walls of the Madrid dressing room.

When these two sides last met in 2011, both players found the net, but it was Messi‘s that ended up being the most crucial as he fired in a stoppage-time penalty to seal a 2-1 win for the Argentines.

It secured a fifth victory for the South American nation over their European counterparts, who have won this fixture on just one previous occasion – back in 1972 when the late Eusebio was among the goalscorers.

As well as the battle between Ronaldo and Messi, plenty of other talent is expected to be on show in both lineups, with the likes of Angel di Maria, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Joao Moutinho and Nani all tipped to feature at some point.

Portugal:

Form in friendlies: LWDWWL
Form in all competitions: DWLLWW

Possible starting lineup: Patricio; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Pepe, Guerreiro; Tiago, Danny, Moutinho, Nani; Ronaldo, Eder

Argentina:

Form in friendlies: WWWLWW
Form in all competitions: DLWLWW

Possible starting lineup: Caballero; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Demichelis, Ansaldi; Mascherano, Perez; Di Maria, Messi, Aguero; Tevez

The post Preview: Portugal vs Argentina first appeared on Cristiano Ronaldo Fan | News, Photos, Blog, Pics, Videos.

The international clash will take place on 18th November and see a number of stars lock horns at the Theatre of Dreams.

Argentina, who reached the World Cup final in the summer, should have Manchester United stars Angel di Maria and Marcos Rojo on display, while Barcelona icon Lionel Messi could feature.

Portugal‘s star man meanwhile will undoubtedly be former Manchester United forward Ronaldo.

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The Real Madrid superstar was forced off with 76 minutes on the clock at the Stade de France, and was later seen on the substitutes bench with an ice pack strapped and bandaged on his left knee.

At the time, the visitors were two goals behind after Karim Benzema opened the scoring and Paul Pogba doubled the advantage, although Ricardo Quaresma made it interesting late on when converting a penalty following his introduction.

Portugal were unable to draw level however, and tasted defeat in Paris ahead of a crucial European Championship qualifier in Denmark on Tuesday night. There must now be questions over Ronaldo’s participation in that match.

Benzema’s opener

That will be of little consequence to Les Bleus, who took the lead after just three minutes when Rui Patricio’s save from a back post Bacary Sagna effort fell into the path of Benzema. The Los Blancos superstar did the rest.

Ronaldo was up to his usual tricks but unable to make a serious dent in the French side, but it was Luis Nani who had the best chance to equalise before half-time. His tame effort whilst one-on-one with Steven Mandanda trickled wide though.

Pogba made him pay after the break, slotting home after good work from Patrice Evra and Benzema created the chance. It proved to be the winner.

Ancelotti injury fear

Before Portugal pulled one back, Ronaldo was forced off to have his knee strapped with 14 minutes left, and that is sure to be a concern to club manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Real Madrid are currently fourth in a domestic league battle with Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla, and the Italian will want his superstar firing on all cylinders at the Santiago Bernabeu with games against Levante, Liverpool and Barca coming up.

The severity of the injury is yet to be confirmed.

France vs Portugal – Friendly (Oct 11, 2014)

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But this weekend Real Madrid teammates Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo prepare to duel for their national sides.

France host Portugal in a friendly but it gives Benzema an opportunity to step out of Ronaldo’s shadow and gun down spotlight-hogging teammate.

Admittedly, Ronaldo is hogging the spotlight with good reason having started the season in astonishing fashion, lashing in three hat-tricks in his last four games. In fact, he’ll have the most hat-tricks in La Liga history if he nets just one more.

The 26-year-old has been the subject of criticism this season, but was recently described by Ronaldo as La Liga’s best and one of the world’s top strikers.

Benzema spoke about his club colleague ahead of the match, saying that it’s pointless comparing him to Lionel Messi as the two have differing playing styles.

“I can’t compare Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,“ Benzema said.

“They don’t have the same playing style. Both are great players. They are among the best players in the world.

“In my case, I have to keep working and improve my statistics and then win titles, quite simply; collective and individual awards.”

The post Ronaldo & Benzema prepares to face each other as France plays Portugal in a Friendly first appeared on Cristiano Ronaldo Fan | News, Photos, Blog, Pics, Videos.

Real Madrid and PSG both clubs travelled to Doha, Qatar To Play an International Friendly Club match at The Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

It was both teams first game in the 2014, however it was a friendly. With 1-0 score at the half time, Real Madrid called off Cristiano Ronaldo and many other players just as the second half begun to give chance to the players specially to their young  talents.

Here are the Match Pitcures: [fbphotos id=631684960222946]

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The match also marked his last game with Portugal for the season.

Here are the pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo on the match :

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The post Pictures : Cristiano Ronaldo – Croatia 0-1 Portugal (10 June 2013)Friendly Match first appeared on Cristiano Ronaldo Fan | News, Photos, Blog, Pics, Videos.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Brilliant Finish (Goal) against Panama in International Friendly

The post Video: Cristiano Ronaldo Goal vs Panama – Friendly (Aug 16, 2012) first appeared on Cristiano Ronaldo Fan | News, Photos, Blog, Pics, Videos.

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