VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS PORTUGAL VS ESTONIA DOWN
Played on 2016/17 International season at Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
Cristiano Ronaldo makes his first appearance of the summer for Portugal, and scores twice as the national side thump Estonia 7-0 in their final friendly prior to Euro 2016
A crowd of 52,536 were present at the Stadium of Light as Ronaldo and Quaresma inspired their side to a confidence boosting win ahead of their Group F opener against Iceland
6:15 video highlights from Portugal v Estonia (courtesy Vid.me)
Portugal Estonia 1-0 Ronaldo 36
Portugal Estonia 2-0 Quaresma 39
Portugal Estonia 3-0 Ronaldo 45
Portugal Estonia 4-0 Danilo
Portugal Estonia 5-0 Mets own goal 61
Portugal Estonia 6-0 Quaresma 77
Portugal Estonia 7-0 Eder
Ronaldo started the game and netted twice before being replaced at half time by Nani. Besiktas winger Quaresma was a constant threat to the Estonian defence with his bag of tricks (we again got to see his rabona crosses), and scored a sweet goal too.
Estonia only mustered a total of two shots on goal, with Portugal attempting 18, and that stat itself tells us that it was pretty much one way traffic in Lisbon.
Portugal, who reached the semifinals of Euro 2012 before losing to Iberian neighbours and eventual winners Spain on penalties, are in a tough group that also includes Iceland, Austria and Hungary. The Seleccao are still the bookies’ favourites to win the group- Ladbrokes for instance, has them at 4/5, ahead of Austria at 2/1 and Iceland at 13/2.
A little bit of trivia- Portugal lost their final Euro 2012 friendly game 3-1 to Turkey, but had a fantastic tournament. They went into the 2014 World Cup on the back of a thumping 5-1 win over the Republic of Ireland, but we all know what transpired after that in Brazil!
Portugal’s last five results going into Euro 2016 have been a bit of a mixed bag- they lost to Bulgaria and England, but beat Belgium, Norway and Estonia. The Belgium result was a significant win as Marc Wilmots’ side are among the dark horses to clinch the Championships- they are at 10/1 to go all the way, while Portugal have significantly lower odds of 16/1.
Cristiano Ronaldo of course has been struggling with injury and is still not fully fit. He makes a world of difference to the Seleccao and if he can regain full fitness, few will bank against Portugal progressing to the next round.
Fernando Santos’ side will probably face Belgium or Italy in the Round of 16, should they win Group F. If they finish second in Group F, it would mean a knockout tie against the runners up of Group B.
Portugal starting XI v Estonia: Rui Patricio, Pepe, Jose Fonte, Cedric Soares, Raphael Guerreiro, Ricardo Quaresma, Joao Moutinho, Danilo Pereira, Joao Mario, Andre Gomes, Cristiano Ronaldo