Cristiano Ronaldo returned to action as Portugal prepared for the World Cup with a 5-1 win over the Republic of Ireland.
The Real Madrid forward played for over an hour of the match in New Jersey, his first involvement since the Champions League final on May 24.
Ronaldo had missed Portugal’s previous friendlies through injury, with Coach Paolo Bento praising his contribution after Ronaldo created a goal for Hugo Almeida and struck the post with a free-kick.
“It was important that he played and we would not hide it. It's good he is back,” Bento said, according to the BBC.
“I think he had a good match alongside what we did collectively. Considering he has been without competitive football for a few weeks, I think he did well.”
Almeida scored twice while Madrid full-back Fabio Coentrao was also on target. The other goals came courtesy of winger Vieirinha and an Andy Keogh own goal. James McClean netted for Ireland.
Coentrao played the full 90 minutes while Pepe was brought off the bench for the final 25 minutes of the fixture.
Portugal’s World Cup begins against Germany on Monday.
