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PHOTOS: Ronaldo scores but Portugal lose; Italy add to Dutch misery

March 29, 2017 13:08 IST

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his Madeira homecoming with an early strike but Sweden wrecked the party by hitting back from two down to win 3-2. Italy recovered from an early own goal to beat the Netherlands 2-1, while World Cup hosts Russia came from two goals down at halftime to hold Belgium to a 3-3 draw.

Images from the friendly matches on Tuesday night:

Sweden wreck Ronaldo's party

Cristiano Ronaldo

IMAGE: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring a goal against Sweden. Photograph: Rafael Marchante/Reuters

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his Madeira homecoming with an early strike but Sweden wrecked the party by hitting back from two down to win 3-2 with a last-gasp own goal in a friendly on Tuesday.

The match, Ronaldo's first appearance for Portugal on the island where he was born, took place on the eve of a ceremony to name Funchal airport after the 32-year-old Real Madrid forward, giving the whole evening a testimonial feel.

But the celebrations turned to misery for the 10,000 crowd as Joao Cancelo put through his own goal in stoppage time to hand Sweden an unlikely victory against the European champions.

The first half went entirely to script as Ronaldo, whose last professional match in Madeira was a league game with Sporting in 2003, turned in Gelson Martins' cross after 18 minutes for his 71st international goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo

IMAGE: Cristiano Ronaldo scores a goal against Sweden. Photograph: Duarte Sa/Reuters

Ronaldo volleyed narrowly wide before again combining with Martins, whose pass was turned into his own net by Sweden captain Andreas Granquivst in the 34th minute.

Portugal were fielding an experimental team and Sweden, who had already exploited some gaps in the defence during the first half, pulled one back through Viktor Claesson in the 57th.

Ronaldo went off to a standing ovation on the hour but then had to watch from the bench as his side capitulated.

Claesson got in front of his marker to prod the ball home from a corner in the 76th before Niklas Hult steamed down the left and sent over a low cross which Cancelo, under no pressure, turned into his own goal at the far post.

Ronaldo already has a museum dedicated to him in Funchal, with a three-metre bronze statute of the four-times world player of the year on the seafront not far from the main entrance.

Italy add to Dutch misery with 2-1 win

IMAGE: Italy’s players celebrate a goal against the Netherlands. Photograph: Michael Kooren

Italy recovered from an early own goal to beat the Netherlands 2-1 away in a friendly on Tuesday and cap a miserable few days for the hosts who sacked manager Danny Blind at the weekend.

Italy's Alessio Romagnoli deflected the ball into his own net after 10 minutes but Eder equalised within 60 seconds and centre back Leonardo Bonucci swept home a loose ball from a corner in the 32nd minute for the winner at the Amsterdam Arena.

Defeat for the Dutch came after a tumultuous period in which their World Cup qualification hopes were handed a severe blow by a 2-0 loss in Bulgaria on Saturday after which Blind was fired.

Under caretaker coach Fred Grim, the Netherlands began in fiery fashion on Tuesday and a quick set of passes between Davy Klaassen and Quincy Promes inside the Italy area saw the ball come off Romagnoli's foot into the net to put the hosts ahead.

IMAGE: Italy’s Leonardo Bonucci scores a goal against the Netherlands. Photograph: Michael Kooren

But the Italians were level within a minute as a floated free kick was poorly cleared by Wesley Hoedt straight to Eder who fired home from outside the area. It was a replica of the second goal the Dutch conceded in Sofia on Saturday.

Netherlands defender Bruno Martins Indi headed against the bar from Memphis Depay's corner after 27 minutes but five minutes later Italy went in front when Romagnoli's effort from a corner brought a superb one-handed save from Jeroen Zoet, only for Bonucci to crash the ball into the roof of the net.

An error by Bonucci early in the second half gave Promes a chance but he was denied by a fine save from Italy’s teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Torino's Serie A top scorer Andrea Belotti came off the bench to force several good saves from Zoet, who also denied debutant Leonardo Spinazzola in the final 10 minutes.

Veteran Wesley Sneijder's cameo appearance near the end held out some promise for the Dutch but although he conjured up two shots in the closing stages they were both saved by Donnarumma, who was making his first start in the national team.

Russia fight back to snatch late draw with Belgium

Alexander Bukharov scored a stoppage-time equaliser as World Cup hosts Russia came from two goals down at halftime to hold Belgium to a 3-3 draw in a friendly in Sochi on Tuesday.

Russia opened the scoring in the third minute through Viktor Vasin, but Kevin Mirallas levelled for Belgium from the penalty spot and Christian Benteke scored twice to give the visitors a commanding advantage at halftime.

Russia pulled one back 15 minutes from the end through substitute Aleksey Miranchuk and then snatched a morale-boosting equaliser.

It was a much-improved performance from Russia, whose recent results were sounding increasingly loud alarm bells ahead of next year’s tournament.

Russia were beaten 2-0 by Ivory Coast in Krasnodar on Friday but will draw some heart from Tuesday's comeback, even if it was against an under-strength Belgium side without regulars like Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, who made a cameo appearance near the end.

Benteke proved an adequate replacement in attack as he won the penalty that led to the equaliser, powering his way into the Russian penalty box before Roman Neustadter brought him down.

Mirallas hit a poor penalty but Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev dived right over the top of it.

Neustadter was also involved in the opening goal when he played a pass back into the danger area from a poorly cleared free kick for Vasin to tap home from close range.

Belgium went ahead in the 42nd minute from a corner as Neustadter cleared Jan Vertonghen's goal-bound header straight at Benteke, who was left with a simple finish.

Benteke headed in an in-swinging free kick from Nacer Chadli to hand Belgium a two-goal advantage on the stroke of halftime.

A host of second-half substitutions took the momentum out of the game before Russia capitalised on sloppy midfield play by the visitors and quickly countered.

Miranchuk then played a one-two with fellow substitute Bukharov before steering the ball into the net.

Bukharov then snatched a draw with an opportunistic finish just minutes before the final whistle.

Source: REUTERS
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