Portugal will face Ecuador Today

Antonio Valencia vs Cristiano Ronaldo

This afternoon Portugal soccer team will face the Ecuadorian “TRI-color” in a friendly match as part of the preparation for the World Cup Brazil 2014.

For more than 40 years that both teams haven’t played against each other. The last time was in the Tournament of the Independence of Brazil, where Portugal emerged victorious defeating Ecuador by 3-0.

In this  meeting is expected the encounter of the stars of both teams, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Ecuadorian Antonio Valencia (Manchester United). Valencia succeeded Ronaldo after he left the English team.

Portugal’s Coach Paulo Bento stressed the high quality of the Ecuadorians and their good ranking as a selection, which recently moved up to the twelfth place.

“They have good players from the technical point of view, fast, able to one on one. And in the defense underlines the aggressiveness and intensity on the defensive process. This will  force us to play with quality, mobility and concentration, which are what we want,” he said.