Danny shines as Portugal breezes past Mozambique
Portugal winger,
Danny took full advantage of the opportunity presented by an injury to
Nani with a goal and an assist in his team’s 3-0 win over Mozambique in
their final friendly before the World Cup.
With Nani ruled out
of the tournament earlier on Tuesday due to a shoulder injury, Portugal
coach Carlos Queiroz chose the safe option and started Cristiano
Ronaldo on the bench. The 28,000-strong crowd at the Wanderers cricket
ground were disappointed not to see the world’s most expensive player
start, and made the stands shake when he finally came on in the 62nd
minute.
Danny was the
liveliest Portuguese player from the start, linking up well with Deco
and Simao as Portugal missed a host of chances. It was the African
team, however, who came closest to scoring, when midfielder Hagy fired
a thunderous long distance shot that crashed against Eduardo’s post on
40 minutes.
The Portuguese took
control in the second half, with Danny sidestepping keeper Lama after a
Deco through ball to score on 52 minutes. The Zenit player turned
provider in the 75th minute, making a fine assist for substitute Hugo
Almeida to tap in. Ronaldo’s main contribution to the match came in the
83rd minute, when his powerful drive was parried by Lama straight to
Almeida who scored his second with another simple finish.
Portugal begin their World Cup Group G campaign against Ivory Coast on June 15 before matches with North Korea and Brazil.
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