Allianz Stadium in Turin was the place where Portugal got a visit from Azerbaijan in their first World Cup Qualifier. We have player ratings.
Portugal started their road to Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup in 2022 against Azerbaijan tonight at Allianz Stadium in Turin. Juventus saw a perfect opportunity to not force their star to travel out of the city this season and they took it. They negotiated Portugal’s matches to take place at their own stadium and got what they wanted. However, the Juventus star still didn’t seem too comfortable today against Azerbaijan.
Even though his side won the match with an own goal, he wasn’t happy throughout the 90 minutes. This Portugal side is far from the level the world expects from them, especially far from the 2016 squad. Ronaldo knows they aren’t going through the best moment and that’s frustrating for him. Today, they had several great chances that didn’t become goals and Cristiano made them know he was unhappy.
Bruno misses the biggest chance.
In the second half as Portugal attempted to score the second goal of the evening, there was a beautiful combination between Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes. This could arguably be a premonition of what these two players will do in the future. However, Bruno’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Məhəmmədəliyev in spectacular fashion.
Even though they weren’t able to get another goal through Ronaldo or any other player. Portugal still got the three points they expected in what promises to be a gruesome qualifier. Cristiano’s road to his final World Cup began with the right foot in terms of the result. But he sure is demanding his teammates to improve their level of performance for future matches.
Player ratings
Portugal: Lopes (6), Mendes (7), Dias (8), Duarte (7), Cancelo (7), Moutinho (7), Neves (7), Bernardo (7), Ronaldo (7), Neto (5), Silva (6).
Bench: Bruno (7), Rafa (7), Felix (5).
Azerbaijan: Məhəmmədəliyev (6), Medvedev (7), Huseynov (7), Salahli (6), Bədəlov (6), Huseynov (6), Krivotsyuk (6), Mahmudov (6), Mustafayev (6), Ghorbani (5), Emreli (5).
Bench: Ibrahimli (5), Nuriev (6).
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