Cristiano Ronaldo is finally getting an attacking partner he can count on.
Andre Silva, the 21-year-old forward who is about to make his debut in a major tournament with Portugal, has been successfully teaming up with Ronaldo to give the European champions an impressive attacking force entering the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Together, the young Silva and the veteran Ronaldo have scored 18 goals since they started playing alongside each other following the Euros last year.
Photo: AFP
Silva, who has just moved from FC Porto to AC Milan in a transfer worth nearly 40 million euros (US$45 million), has scored seven goals in eight games since his debut with the national team in a friendly against Gibraltar in September last year.
“It’s a dream to be playing with Ronaldo,” Silva said ahead of Portugal’s Confederation Cup debut against Mexico yesterday in Kazan, Russia. “I’ve always imagined myself playing with him. I’m very happy to be playing alongside our captain.”
Few players have succeeded alongside Ronaldo in Portugal’s attack recently.
Nani, Ricardo Quaresma and Eder were in the squad when Portugal won the European championship last year, with Eder scoring the extra-time winner in the final against host France, but none made it to Fernando Santos’ squad for the Confederations Cup, the World Cup warm-up event.
Silva has been compared with a young Fernand Torres, the former Spain striker currently playing for Atletico Madrid.
The tall forward is a constant danger on set pieces inside the area. He is cool and calm when he has chances in front of goal.
In addition to being an idol, Ronaldo also serves as a mentor for the talented young forward.
“Cristiano talks to me and gives me advice,” Silva said. “He’s been playing this game for several years, I’m just starting. I try to listen to him and he tries to help me as best he can. I think that we communicate well and we have a good understanding and that leads to these good results.”
Ronaldo scored twice and set up Silva’s goal in the team’s 3-0 win at Latvia in European World Cup qualifying last week, the team’s last match before yesterday’s Group A opener against Mexico at Kazan Arena.
The duo scored goals in the same match three other times — World Cup qualifiers against Hungary, Andorra and the Faroe Islands.
Silva’s first goal with Portugal’s main squad was an 86th-minute close-range strike against Andorra, capping a 6-0 rout in which Ronaldo scored four times. It was only Silva’s third match.
In his next game, Silva scored a hat-trick against the Faroe Islands, when Ronaldo added one goal in another 6-0 victory.
“Since I joined the national team I’ve felt very welcomed,” Silva said.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS