Photo Credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images
Having already felt less than prepped and ready, Christiano Ronaldo and the men of Portugal took to the field Monday, making their 2014 World Cup debut, to face off against highly favored Germany. Although a beautiful afternoon in Brazil, it was as though the once bright shining sun had turned to darkening clouds, pulling the game plan of Portugal down with it.
A scored penalty kick by Thomas Muller here to a rising header off a corner by Mats Hummels there, the charging men of Germany had taken a commanding 2-0 lead just 30 minutes into the match… but that was the least of Portugal’s problems.
Tempers flaring, Portugal defensive midfielder, Pepe, was given a red card and immediately dismissed from play after head butting German forward, Muller.
Portugal, then forced to play with a 10-man lineup, continued to struggle as Ronaldo was unable to get many touches to counterattack the German dominance that resulted in a Muller hat trick and a 4-0 shutout.
Portugal look’s on to face the US in their next match, although they will be without Pepe and may also be down Hugo Almeida and Fabio Coentrao due to injuries.
