Portugal earned a hard-fought 2–1 victory over Chile on Saturday in an entertaining international friendly, using the occasion to sharpen preparations ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Roberto Martínez’s side controlled much of the opening half, producing several opportunities. They nearly took the lead when Rúben Dias rose highest to meet a corner, but Chile goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux reacted brilliantly to keep the header out.
Rafael Leão also came close after bursting into the penalty area, only to see his powerful effort crash against the post. Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had opened the scoring midway through the half, but the goal was ruled offside.
The match took a dramatic turn just before halftime when tensions boiled over following a heated confrontation between Rafael Leão and Iván Román. After a brief melee involving several players, both men were shown straight reds.
They eventually found the breakthrough in the 59th minute. Rúben Neves delivered a perfectly placed pass into the area for Gonçalo Guedes, who calmly slotted home from close range to make it 1–0.
The hosts spectacularly doubled their advantage in the 74th minute. Bruno Fernandes collected possession outside the box and unleashed a superb curling strike that flew beyond Vigouroux and into the top corner for 2-0.
Chile continued to battle despite trailing and managed to pull a goal back deep into stoppage time when Lucas Cepeda finished clinically after a swift attacking move for the final 2-1 result.
The Seleção will play their final preparation match on Wednesday night in Leiria against Nigeria.
The Paris Saint-Germain core of Vitinha, João Neves, Nuno Mendes, and Gonçalo Ramos joined up with the Seleção late after winning the Champions League final. They are expected to be integrated for the final friendly in Leiria.
Midfielder Matheus Nunes sat out the Chile match due to a fitness precautions.
Lineups
Portugal: José Sá (Rui Silva 46’); Nélson Semedo (Diogo Dalot 46’), Rúben Dias (Tomás Araújo 86’), Renato Veiga (Gonçalo Inácio 46’), João Cancelo; Bernardo Silva (Rúben Neves 46’), Samú Costa (Pedro Neto 46’); Chico Conceição (João Félix 76’), Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leão (Red Card 45+2); Cristiano Ronaldo (Gonçalo Guedes, 46’)
Chile: Lawrence Vigouroux, Guillermo Maripán, Iván Román (Red Card 45+2), Felipe Faúndez, Gabriel Suazo, Felipe Loyola (Fabián Hormazabal 79’), Vicente Pizarro (Víctor Méndez 79’), Agustín Arce (Lucas Cepeda 65’), Maximiliano Gutiérrez (Rodrigo Echeverría 65’), Darío Osorio (Nils Reichmuth 79’), Gonzalo Tapia (Iván Morales 79’)
Goals
P: Gonçalo Guedes, 58’
P: Bruno Fernandes, 75’
C: Lucas Cepeda, 90+2’
World Cup Schedule
June 17: World Cup Group K opener against DR Congo in Houston, Texas.
June 23: Group K match against Uzbekistan in Houston, Texas.
June 27: Final group stage match against Colombia in Miami, Florida.
