Portugal vs. England 2016 Friendly Game: Will Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney Play? Preview, Time and Livestream
England Plays Final Game Before Euro2016
A much-awaited friendly game between England and Portugal is happening on Thursday and it will be the preparation of England before the team plays for the Euro 2016.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is resting for a week and will miss the friendly game versus England, the second-successive match where he will be absent, FourFourTwo said. He was also missing during his team's 3-0 win versus Norway last Sunday because he had a game with Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid in Italy.
Along with Ronaldo, defender Pepe will also miss the England match since both players are given the time to rest before Portugal heads to the Euro 2016 opening game versus Iceland. The match is set on June 14.
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Portugal coach Fernando Santos is positive that his team can do a good job during the friendly game even without Ronaldo. "I'm absolutely not worried about Cristiano. He will be here next weekend with his team-mates with a strong desire to help the team," the coach said in the FourFourTwo report.
On the other hand, England captain Wayne Rooney will lead his team for the friendly match on Thursday versus Portugal, Sky Sports reported. Team manager Roy Hodgson said the match on Thursday will not anymore be a testing ground for his team as it prepares for Euro 2016.
"The first two preparation games [last week] were good in that respect, I don't need to try anything out any more," Hodgson said.
He, however, noted that the 11 players who will start during the game versus Portugal may not be the same roster he will field in the game versus Russia. There are also expected realignments on the players of England for this game.
Santos also told Evening Standard that the Portugal game will help them assess how Ronaldo's team will do during Euro 2016. He added that Ronaldo is expected to really give his best and aim for the title.
For fans eager to witness this friendly match, Eurosport noted that the kickoff will begin at 7:45 p.m. at the Wembley Stadium in London. Those who are hoping to get tickets for the game should not anymore hope of getting one since the game has been sold out in the past days. There are, however, still limited wheelchair slots available.
Eurosport added that the game can be witnessed through iTV in the United Kingdom starting at 7: 30 p.m. There is also a livestream available through this link. Based on Goal's predictions, England could win the game versus Portugal on Thursday with a 2-1 or 2-0 score.
