International friendly: Portugal, Spain play out a goalless draw
Cristiano Ronaldo endured a rather frustrating night which saw him miss the chance of taking his international goal tally to 102 as Portugal slugged out a goalless draw against Spain in their international friendly on Wednesday in Lisbon.
Spain dominated the first half, raining in 11 shots at goal in the opening 45 minutes, but it was Portugal who really should have taken the lead, with Raphael Guerreiro firing over from eight yards out.
Portugal shuffled their pack in the second half, introducing Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Liverpool’s Digo Jota, while Adama Traore, who snubbed Mali to represent Spain, came off the bench for his debut, adding to the numerous Wolves players on the pitch.
Ronaldo, who had a quiet first half, exploded to life in the second half and saw a stunning strike hit the woodwork. the effort for goal, but it came down off the underside of the crossbar and landed on the line.
The Portugal skipper then turned provider for Renato Sanches, who suffered the same fate, seeing his first-time strike come down on the line, too, with Joao Felix missing a sitter late on to snatch the win.
With all that Premier League talent on the pitch – Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes remained on the bench and nobody could find that winning goal, as both move on to upcoming Nations League games.
The Spanish and Portuguese Football Federations announced while the match was playing, that the two countries will launch a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
