Mercurial forward Ricardo Quaresma scored twice and set up three more goals in a sparkling individual performance as Portugal demolished Estonia 7-0 in their final friendly before Euro 2016 on Wednesday. The charismatic but erratic forward, given a chance to stake his place in the team for France when he replaced Nani in the starting line-up, even upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo who scored twice before being taken off at halftime. Quaresma, whom critics say has failed to make the most of his talent in a career punctuated by tantrums, produced his full repertoire of tricks in one of the best international performances of his topsy-turvy career. The 32-year-old opened the floodgates with two moments of brilliance just before halftime. This first was a stunning "trivela", an outswinging cross hit with the outside of his right foot, to pick out Ronaldo who got in front of his marker and scored with a bullet header at the far post in the 36th minute.
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
President of Portugal Anibal Antonio Cavaco Silva on Wednesday said India was now recognised as a success story, a place where "the future is being shaped".
The top seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair of Sania Mirza and Cara Black rallied from a set down to quell the challenge of Irina-Camelia Begu and Maria Irigoyen in the opening round of the WTA Portugal Open, in Oeiras, on Wednesday.
Pride not pragmatism will be the watchword when soccer powerhouses Brazil and Portugal meet in a mouthwatering World Cup clash on Friday (1930 IST) to decide the winners of Group G. Although whoever tops the group could meet Spain in the second round, any suggestion that either side might connive to avoid the European champions has received short shrift.
Pride not pragmatism will be the watchword when soccer powerhouses Brazil and Portugal meet in a mouth-watering World Cup clash on Friday to decide the winners of Group G.
Jose Mourinho has said he was frustrated by what appeared to be Real Madrid's objections to his temporarily coaching the Portuguese national team for two Euro 2012 qualifiers next month
Portugal have asked FIFA to cancel the yellow card Cristiano Ronaldo received in the World Cup game against the Ivory Coast, saying the forward merely tried to walk away after being tripped and insulted.
A round-up of all the international friendlies played on Tuesday
Striker Sunil Chhetri struck twice as the Indian national football team scored a narrow 3-2 victory over Portuguese second division side Sertanense FC in a practice match at Santarem, around 60kms from Lisbon.
Reuters TV footage showed people smashing shop ventures and fights with police. Some fires could also be seen on avenue de Friedland close to the Champs Elysees.
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said on Tuesday his team's 2-0 win over his compatriots from Brazil meant more in terms of preparation for their next European qualifier than personal satisfaction.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest forwards of all time but his latest struggles with Manchester United and Portugal have raised many questions about whether his brilliant career is nearing a bitter end.
Asked if the result could have been different if Ronaldo had played from the beginning of the game, Portuguese fan Filipa Ramires said "it wouldn't have mattered".
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba will decide if he has recovered sufficiently from a fractured elbow to play against Portugal in their World Cup Group G opener on Tuesday, said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
France produced one of soccer's most famous comebacks on Tuesday to scrape into next year's World Cup finals via the playoffs while Portugal blazed through after Cristiano Ronaldo conjured up a sensational hat-trick.
Spain's 'Tiki Taka' passing was off-tempo at the Donbass Arena but the holders, unable to hurt Portugal in 120 minutes of stalemate, broke their hearts in a penalty shootout to reach the final of Euro 2012 on Wednesday.
Portugal's captain said he expects a difficult game because it will be one of the last chances for Iran to try to get through to the next round.
Saudi Arabia announced it would bid only minutes after soccer's global governing body called for Asia and Oceania bids on October 4.
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will leave with immediate effect, the English Premier League team said on Tuesday, marking a bitter end to the Portugal captain's second spell at Old Trafford after he said he felt betrayed by the club.
A 1-0 victory in Dublin put France on the verge of qualification for the 2010 World Cup but the final step towards South Africa could still be a treacherous one in Paris on Wednesday.
Luis Figo's decision to enter FIFA's presidential election has received a positive reaction in his native Portugal even though he faces a seemingly impossible task to unseat incumbent Sepp Blatter in May.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his Madeira homecoming with an early strike but Sweden wrecked the party by hitting back from two down to win 3-2.
Unheralded Joao Sousa completed a fairytale run at the Malaysian Open on Sunday when he beat France's Julien Benneteau 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the final to become the first Portuguese to win an ATP Tour title.
In his fifth World Cup, Ronaldo will arrive captaining a team of standout players who are widely seen as among the world's best but who have arguably underachieved on the biggest stage.
Schuerrle hits treble for the world champs; Lewandowski helps Poland thrash Georgia
Thomas Mueller's second-half goal gave Germany a 1-0 victory over the United States in World Cup Group G on Thursday.
Manchester United bolstered their squad with a flurry of transfer deadline day signings, Manchester City and Liverpool also splashed out while ambitious Brighton & Hove Albion sealed an audacious loan deal for Barcelona's Ansu Fati on Friday.
The Netherlands staged a remarkable comeback to win 4-3 in Austria while European champions Greece beat Portugal 2-1 as all 16 Euro 2008 finalists contested friendlies on Wednesday. The Dutch were 3-0 down against Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria after 35 minutes but two late goals from strikers Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Klaas Jan Huntelaar gave them the win after they had clawed their way back into the match.
Germany moved up a gear after some unconvincing group games to beat Portugal 3-2 on Thursday and advance to the semi-finals of Euro 2008.
Huge cutouts of football stars including Messi, Neymar Jr and Ronaldo can be seen across the state.
'No title can explain the impact you've had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That's a gift from god.'
Five-time champions Brazil and their former colonial masters Portugal played out a disapppointing goal-less draw in a listless Group G FIFA World Cup match as both teams progressed to the next round of the tournament in Durban on Friday.
Ducati's Enea Bastianini claimed his first race victory of the season when he won the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Gresini's Alex Marquez on Sunday, while Jorge Martin failed to close the gap on championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.
Portugal play surprise package Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday and a visibly frustrated Santos took great pains to explain what happened behind the scenes to put the issue to bed.
Brazil are pre-tournament favourites to win a record-extending sixth title.
