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Southampton: Cedric’s Portugal beat Armstrong’s Scotland 3-1

By Chris Hughes

SOCHI, RUSSIA - JUNE 15: Portugal player Cedric in action during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group B match between Portugal and Spain at Fisht Stadium on June 15, 2018 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
SOCHI, RUSSIA - JUNE 15: Portugal player Cedric in action during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group B match between Portugal and Spain at Fisht Stadium on June 15, 2018 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /
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Two Southampton teammates Cedric Soares and Stuart Armstrong faced each other tonight in a friendly, with the former’s Portugal side winning the battle.

Cedric got the nod for Fernando Santos’ team despite falling down the pecking order behind Juventus man Joao Cancelo, and he’ll hope he’s impressed enough to stake his claim when he returns to international duty next month.

Armstrong also started despite limited minutes in the league for the Saints, however he was forced off with around 15 minutes to play with a suspected injury – worrying news for Southampton fans.

Goals from Helder Costa, Bruma and Eder were enough for the home side to comfortably win, although Scotland put in a much more valiant effort than they did in the 2-1 defeat to Israel earlier this week in the UEFA Nation’s League.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – OCTOBER 14: Stuart Armstrong and Andy Robertson of Scotland leave the pitch during the International Friendly match between Scotland and Portugal on October 14, 2018 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – OCTOBER 14: Stuart Armstrong and Andy Robertson of Scotland leave the pitch during the International Friendly match between Scotland and Portugal on October 14, 2018 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) /

Nonetheless Portugal eventually broke down the Scottish defence just before half-time, when Wolves man Helder Costa scored a tap in to give him and Cedric and his team the lead.

The two Southampton men battled it out for another thirty minutes before another goal was scored, when 2016 European Championship hero Eder scored a smart header to give his side some breathing room. From that point on Portugal were dominant while the home side were deflated.

And the win was finally confirmed just ten minutes later when in the 84th minute the pacey Bruma was played in by the teenage Gedson Fernandes before finishing to make it 3-0.

Scotland would get a chance to celebrate and spoil a perfect evening for traveling side as Steven Naismith scored his ninth international goal to give his team a consolation. But, the win was already confirmed and Portugal make it two-from-two for their international break whilst the Scots come away without a win.

Armstrong and Cedric will return to Southampton duty in the coming days with the Saints facing off against Bournemouth in a week’s time. The fixture against the Cherries is seen as one of the Saints’ most winnable fixtures between now and the festive period, despite the fact that Eddie Howe’s side have been really impressive this season.

However, Bournemouth have been inconsistent at best since their promotion to the top flight and have regularly ended winning streaks with drab runs of two or three losses on the spin. Mark Hughes will hope his players are sharp and can exploit any weaknesses the Cherries have.

Kick-off in that game in 3PM this Saturday.

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