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Updated June 10th, 2021 at 13:25 IST

Man City's Portuguese star Joao Cancelo scores stunner in friendly ahead of Euro 2020

Man City defender Joao Cancelo played one of his best games in the national team jersey with the Portuguese star scoring a stunner against Israel on Wednesday.

Reported by: Smit Trivedi
Man City defender Joao Cancelo
| Image:self
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Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo took the pitch by storm and left fans in awe of him with his scintillating performance against Israel during Wednesday's international friendly. The Portuguese defender was handed a start by national team head coach Fernando Santos alongside fellow Man City teammates Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias for the first time since their outing against Chelsea in the Champions League final. Cancelo did not disappoint with the Joao Cancelo goal not only helping Portugal record an easy win but also allowing them to send a statement to their opponents ahead of the upcoming Euro 2020. 

Portugal end Euro 2020 preparations with perfect win over Israel

The 2016 European champions came out all guns blazing against their Israeli counterparts and produced a dominant display in their second international friendly ahead of their Euro 2020 campaign opener. After managing to get a grip and dictate the flow of the game, Portugal managed to break the deadlock at the brink of halftime with Bruno Fernandes. The Manchester United midfielder connected with Cancelo's pass with his low finish handing the hosts a significant advantage near the end of the first half. They soon doubled their lead with Cristiano Ronaldo as the 36-year-old attacker found the back on the net around the 44th-minute mark, scoring his 104th goal for the country.

Heading into the second half with a two-goal lead to their name, Portugal came out showing great determination looking to continue attacking and get more goals in their pocket. Cancelo cut in from the right-hand side and finished a wonderful self-orchestrated chance to score a stunning goal with just four minutes left on the clock. Bruno Fernandes went on to hit the final nail in the coffin with a wonderful volley to score the fourth goal as Portugal secured a comfortable victory over Israel in the second friendly. 

Portugal football team fixtures

Portugal managed to play a 0-0 draw against Spain in their first warm-up match before registering a massive 4-0 win over Israel on Wednesday. The 2016 Euro winners have gathered some positive momentum for themselves ahead of the start of the tournament and will aim to defend their title. Slotted in Group F in the Euro group stage table, Fernando Santos's men find themselves in the group of death, drawing against France and Germany apart from Hungary.

Portugal will be eager to prove themselves and will look to make a statement by topping their group. They are set to play their tournament opener against Hungary on June 14 and will hope to kickstart the campaign on a positive note before locking horns against Germany and France in their second and third group stage matches respectively.

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Published June 10th, 2021 at 13:25 IST

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