Cristiano Ronaldo has said that Portugal’s dismal goalless draw with Cape Verde will be forgotten before their World Cup campaign kicks off in South Africa next month.
Portugal were held to a 0-0 draw in a friendly on Monday in a disappointing start to its World Cup preparations.
Ronaldo made little impact despite playing the full 90 minutes and creating a number of openings.
“We’re still at the beginning, we’re still getting ready,” Ronaldo said. “We’re not going to take this draw too badly. By the time we get to South Africa we’ll be better than this.”
Cape Verde, ranked 117th in the world, were the first of three African opponents Portugal plan to meet in friendly matches ahead of their June 15 World Cup opener against Ivory Coast. They also face Cameroon on June 1 and Mozambique June 8.
Coach Carlos Queiroz said he wasn’t worried by his team’s performance at its training camp in Portugal’s central highlands.
“This was a training match. We’ve only been together a few days and you can’t expect too much,” he said. “But we showed the tactical discipline and awareness which I wanted to see.”
