Euro bound England beat Portugal
Written By: Robert Halter
In the final preparations for Euro 2016 in France, at the beginning of June, England had their last warm up match with Portugal at Wembley stadium. In the eleventh minute, a miss kick by Portugal keeper, Ruiz Patricio, found Kyle Walker, who picked out his Spurs and England club team mate, Harry Kane, who rolled the ball into the path of the Three Lions captain, Wayne Rooney, before Patricio made a brave stop, but the flag was raised for offside on Rooney. Midway through the first half, a well placed delivery by Walker was met with a cushioned header by Rooney which was caught by the clutches of Patricio. On twenty eighty minutes, after a late challenge by Jamie Vardy on Vieirinha, from a free kick by Joao Moutinho, the ball fell to Ricardo Carvalho, who sent a header high over the crossbar. In the thirty first minute, as a ball by Rooney ricocheted off Danilo Pereira, a fierce strike by Walker, was smashed wide of the goal. Three minutes later, Adrien Silva, spurned a header wide from a delivery by Eliseu, as his attempt from the centre of the box went too high. But a minute later, Portugal were reduced to ten men as Bruno Alves, received a straight red card from Italian referee, Marco Guida, for dangerous high kicking on the top of Kane’s head. The Portuguese then replaced Rafa Silva with Jose Fonte. In the thirty ninth minute, Rooney played the ball out to Kane, who found space to test Patricio with a low drive. Before the re-start for the second half, Portugal replaced Joao Eduardo with Andre Gomes, before captain Nani was removed for Ricardo Quaresma. On sixty three minutes, Tottenham and England players combined as Dele Alli found Eric Dier, whose well struck right footed shot from outside the box tested Patricio, who saved the ball towards the bottom right corner. The Three Lions then changed Vardy with Raheem Sterling and James Milner was taken off for Jack Wilshere. Further Portuguese changes were made with Adrien Silva switched for Renato Sanches and William Carvalaho on for Moutinho. This followed with England brining on the Liverpool duo of Daniel Sturridge for Kane and Adam Lallana for Rooney. In the eighty first minute, after an assist from Wilshere, a left footed strike by Sturridge, went left of the target, from outside the area. But two minutes later, against the run of play, a calculating run by Portugal’s Sanches was completed with a curling strike by Quaresma, which bent over the right frame of the goal. But it was England that broke the deadlock on eighty six minutes, when after a foul by Ricardo Carvalho on Alli, from a free kick by Walker, the ball was punched clear by Patricio but it was picked up from Wilshere, who cleared the way for Sterling on the left, whose well placed delivery found Chris Smalling, who from the centre of the box sent a perfectly timed header past Patricio, into the bottom right corner of the net. Near the end, Eder took over from Ricardo Carvalho for Portugal, while England took off Alli for Jordan Henderson. In the third minute of stoppage time, William Carvalho rose on the left side of the box to nod over a corner from Quaresma which left Portugal with their last opportunity of the game as the Three Lions won by a slender margin with England right-back, Walker, getting the Vauxhall man of the match.