Lady Luck smiled at us: Santos
Portugal coach Fernando Santos admitted that they were lucky not to get into trouble against Morocco last night, eventually winning 1-0, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's goal.
The European champions took the lead in the fourth minute when Ronaldo charged into the box to bury his header and become Europe's top international scorer with 85 goals.
But they instantly eased off and offered little else in terms of attacking football for the rest of the match.
Instead, it was Morocco, who lost their Group B opener 1-0 to Iran, who were the more aggressive side, missing half a dozen scoring chances and the Portuguese conceding far too much space.
Said Santos: "As with the game against Spain, after 10 to 15 minutes, we lost control and possession. A lot of wrong passes, a lot of anxiety.
"We have to be able to deal with the pressure and play the ball. If you don't do that, then you get into trouble."
Santos reserved praise for his skipper Ronaldo, who scored his fourth goal of this World Cup, saying: "Cristiano is like port wine. He knows how to refine his capacity and age well. He is a constantly evolving, unlike regular players."
Ronaldo said he was happy to score again, but admitted that they need to improve further.
" Our expectation is to continue our work and try to improve in the group phase," said the Real Madrid superstar.
Portugal face Iran in their final group game next Tuesday morning (Singapore time) in Saransk. - REUTERS
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