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| Queiroz endures miserbale night |
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Portugal's World Cup preparations got off to a miserable start as they were remarkably held to a goalless draw at home to African minnows Cape Verde.
Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz selected a full-strength starting line-up with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Miguel Veloso, Nani, Deco, Liedson and Cristiano Ronaldo all named.
Fabio Coentrao was the one surprise inclusion, with the Benfica player winning only his second cap at left-back against a side ranked 117th in the world.
The hosts predictably dominated the encounter at the Complexo Desportivo in Covilha but lacked a cutting edge with Real Madrid forward Ronaldo in particular guilty of a string of misses.
Hugo Almeida also saw an effort repelled by the Cape Verde goalkeeper but otherwise the hosts offered little in the way of an attacking threat. Portugal suffered an injury scare when Tiago was forced off with an injury on 75 minutes, leaving the hosts to play out the remainder of the game with 10 men having already made all six of their permitted substitutions.
Portugal, who squeaked through the qualifiers for South Africa after defeating Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-offs, will hope for better against two more African teams when their World Cup preparations continue next week.
Queiroz's troops play Cameroon on June 1 and Mozambique on June 8 before they open their World Cup account against Ivory Coast in Port Elizabeth on June 15. Brazil and North Korea also await the Portuguese in Group G.
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