Southampton: Cedric and Portugal thankful to Cristiano
By Marc Walker
Cedric and Portugal were thankful to a brilliant display from Cristiano Ronaldo in their 3-3 draw with Spain at the World Cup this evening.
The Southampton Full-Back started the game and played the full 90 minutes in a breathless game that will be one of the games of the tournament for sure.
The 26-year-old also had a solid game despite the tough opposition players he was faced with. With both Real Madrid’s Isco and Barcelona’s Jordi Alba attacking down his flank, he had to be focused throughout the evening to help thwart attacks.
He would complete 70% of his passes during the game, make one key pass, one tackle and one interception in a well rounded defensive performance from Portugal that would lay the foundations for Cristiano Ronaldo up front.
Portugal would go into the break 2-1 up following a brace from their talisman. A second minute penalty put then ahead before Diego Costa levelled the scores, but a mistake from David De Gea gifted Ronaldo his second.
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Spain then fired themselves ahead with a quickfire double to stun their opponents. A close range tap-in from Costa gave him a double before a wonderful strike from Nacho seemed to have won it for his side.
However, Ronaldo’s nerveless 88th minute free-kick was bent into the top corner and claimed a deserved share of the spoils.
As Portugal’s first-choice Right-Back, Cedric will want to be involved again in his side’s next group games. They face Morocco next Wednesday at 1pm before a third game against Iran on Monday 25th.
It seems as though he may not be matches up against the other three Saints players in Russia until a potential meeting later in the tournament. Maya Yoshida, Jan Bednarek and Dusan Tadic are all playing their games in the opposite side of the draw.
Former Saints captain Jose Fonte also played the full match as he and Cedric rekindled their strong partnership on the right side of defence.