Portugal’s hopes of reaching the World Cup finals in South Africa next June hung in the balance as Carlos Queiroz’s men headed into the second leg do-or-die showdown with Bosnia on Wednesday evening (after the Algarve Resident went to press).
Saturday’s home game at Benfica’s Stadium of Light saw Bruno Alves score on the half hour but Braga keeper Eduardo and the packed stands were then forced to survive several heart-stopping moments as the visitors struck bar and post on three occasions.
In view of the narrow 1-0 advantage, penalty practice was the order of the day during pre-match training but Portugal will have taken heart from the fact that three key Bosnian players were missing through suspension in Zenica and should have booked their passage.
Elsewhere in Europe on Wednesday night Ireland will have faced a difficult task in Paris following their first leg 1-0 home defeat to France, Greece travelled to the Ukraine on the back of a goalless home draw and Russia will not have sat on their 2-1 advantage when facing Slovenia away.
In Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon finally joined Ghana and the Ivory Coast on the way to the finals but a 95th minute goal from Amr Zaki in Cairo left Egypt and Algeria deadlocked- the two rivals also faced a play-off in neutral Sudan last Wednesday to decide the issue.
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