Portugal's World Cup preparations began with a shock goalless draw against African minnows Cape Verde.
Queiroz's troops held by Cape Verde
Portugal's World Cup preparations began with a shock goalless draw against African minnows Cape Verde.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco were among those selected in a strong starting XI by Carlos Queiroz but Portugal were unable to break down Cape Verde's stubborn resistance.
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 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 1st June and Mozambique seven days later before they open their World Cup account against Ivory Coast in Port Elizabeth on 15th June.
Brazil and North Korea also await Portugal in Group G.
