Player Ratings: Friendly Brazil 3-1 Portugal
Neymar #10 of Brazil traps the ball against Portugal in the second half during the international friendly match at Gillette Stadium
The international friendly being held at the Gillette Stadium, Massachusetts, saw the Portuguese captain Ronaldo absent from Paulo Bento’s side, after being ruled out on account of tendinitis.
Ronaldo’s match winning display against Northern Ireland, including a hat-trick, saw him reach the top of the goal scoring charts for his country, surpassing Eusebio.
Portugal now sits two points ahead of Russia at the top of Group F and look set to qualify for the finals next year. The Brazilians, who have only lost one game so far this year, a surprise 1-0 defeat to Switzerland, are looking to build as much momentum as possible before playing host to the World Cup in 2014.
It was business as usual for the Confederation Cup Winners as they came out with a thrilling 3-1 victory. After the Canarinho went behind, Neymar set up the equaliser before scoring a stunning solo effort to put his side on their way to a comfortable victory.
Raul Meireles put Portugal in front in the 18th minute after capitalizing on a defensive mistake from Maicon. But soon Neymar came to the rescue, chipping in a corner that found Thiago Silva. Then he dribbled into the box and tucked away into the left corner of the net to put the South Americans in front at half-time. He, then, later assisted Jo to score his third goal of the week after a brace against Australia.
The player ratings for the match are:
Brazil
Neymar- 4.5/5
The Brazilian play-maker had an electrifying game. The Confederations player of the tournament scored a stunning goal and assisted in the other two for his team.
Julio Cesar- 4/5
The experienced Brazilan keeper was unlucky that Maicon’s error caused the opening goal. An excellent performance from the keeper as usual, and he was mostly undisturbed during the game.
David Luiz- 3.5/5
The Chelsea centre back had a good game and delivered several accurate long passes to the front men. The Blues’ defender also made some quick forward runs, making Brazil all the more dangerous at scoring goals.
Thiago Silva -3.5/5
The PSG defender put on a great performance for his team. Getting on the scoring chart to equalize for his team was a bonus, one that he earned by nodding in the header from Neymar’s corner kick.
Paulinho -3.5/5
A dynamic performance by the new Tottenham signing. He ran from box-to-box throughout the game and put in a number of strong challenges to disrupt the play in midfield. He held good possession, made some good runs from the deep to support the forwards and provided them with decisive passes.
Portugal
Rui Patricio -2/5
The Portuguese goalkeeper allowed three shots into goals although he couldn’t have done much to stop them. He looked shaky and confidence surrendered a few times when the Brazilians created pressure.
Pepe- 2.5/5
The Real Madrid defender was outrun far too easily by Neymar and this should count as one of his disappointing performances. He also lacked mobility while coming forward.
Nani -2.5/5
The Manchester United play-maker was hardly involved in the game. He gave away possession easily and a header in the first half was his only major contribution to the friendly.
Bruno Alves- 2/5
Alves tried to triumph against Neymar but failed to keep up with the Barcelona star. Although it was a disappointing performance, Alves was strong in the air.
Fabio Coentrao -2/5
The Real Madrid wing-back did not seize the opportunity to attack enough. He had a slow start and he struggled to keep up with the pace of the game. He rarely took an opportunity to attack and his evening was cut short as he limped off with an injury.