Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal fall 3-0 to Netherlands in friendly
Tue Mar 27, 2018 08:15:am Sports
4.3K By Obiaks Blog
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal suffered a 3-0 defeat to Netherlands in a friendly in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday night.
Memphis Depay, Ryan Babel and Virgil van Dijk all scored in the first half for the Dutch, who failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup. And any chance of a comeback for Portugal ended when Joao Cancelo was sent off following a second booking after the hour mark.
Portugal already trailed 1-0 when Ronaldo went down at the edge of the box and shouted for a penalty, but replays showed he kicked his left foot into the turf as defender Nathan Ake brushed across his back.
As Cancelo was walking off the pitch, a small number of supporters ran onto the pitch to briefly meet Ronaldo before security intervened, and the Real Madrid star was substituted shortly aferwards.
On Friday, Ronaldo scored two late goals to spark Portugal to a 2-1 win over Egypt, but Netherlands made them pay for a weak first-half display.
The rebuilding project of new Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman looked more promising in Geneva than it did in a lacklustre 1-0 home loss against England on Friday.
Portugal centre-back Jose Fonte let Depay get in front of him to pounce on a loose ball and open the scoring in the 11th minute, finishing off a sweeping Dutch counter-attack keyed by Davy Propper's neat pass infield from the left flank, which let Depay find Van Dijk surging forward on the right.
Teenage defender Matthijs De Ligt assisted on the next two goals, first firing a powerful cross from near the byline that Babel met unmarked to guide the ball in with his head.
In first-half stoppage time, De Ligt was alone at the far post to meet a free kick with a header looped into the path of Van Dijk for a crisp shot across the goalmouth into the corner of the net.
Ajax's 18-year-old rising star Justin Kluivert made his international debut as a substitute late in the game.
It was a first defeat inside 90 minutes for Portugal since gifting Sweden a 3-2 comeback win in a friendly almost exactly a year ago. The European champion also lost a penalty shootout to Chile in the Confederations Cup semifinals in June.
ESPN
Memphis Depay, Ryan Babel and Virgil van Dijk all scored in the first half for the Dutch, who failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup. And any chance of a comeback for Portugal ended when Joao Cancelo was sent off following a second booking after the hour mark.
Portugal already trailed 1-0 when Ronaldo went down at the edge of the box and shouted for a penalty, but replays showed he kicked his left foot into the turf as defender Nathan Ake brushed across his back.
As Cancelo was walking off the pitch, a small number of supporters ran onto the pitch to briefly meet Ronaldo before security intervened, and the Real Madrid star was substituted shortly aferwards.
On Friday, Ronaldo scored two late goals to spark Portugal to a 2-1 win over Egypt, but Netherlands made them pay for a weak first-half display.
The rebuilding project of new Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman looked more promising in Geneva than it did in a lacklustre 1-0 home loss against England on Friday.
Portugal centre-back Jose Fonte let Depay get in front of him to pounce on a loose ball and open the scoring in the 11th minute, finishing off a sweeping Dutch counter-attack keyed by Davy Propper's neat pass infield from the left flank, which let Depay find Van Dijk surging forward on the right.
Teenage defender Matthijs De Ligt assisted on the next two goals, first firing a powerful cross from near the byline that Babel met unmarked to guide the ball in with his head.
In first-half stoppage time, De Ligt was alone at the far post to meet a free kick with a header looped into the path of Van Dijk for a crisp shot across the goalmouth into the corner of the net.
Ajax's 18-year-old rising star Justin Kluivert made his international debut as a substitute late in the game.
It was a first defeat inside 90 minutes for Portugal since gifting Sweden a 3-2 comeback win in a friendly almost exactly a year ago. The European champion also lost a penalty shootout to Chile in the Confederations Cup semifinals in June.
ESPN
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