LIVE streaming: Portugal vs Greece friendly online, on TV

LIVE streaming: Portugal vs Greece friendly online, on TV - May 31, 2014

Topics: Live Stream, TV Schedules, Live Scores, Portugal, Greece, International Friendly, Cristiano Ronaldo

Without Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe, the Portuguese will still want to put on a positive performance. Watch live as Greece aims to continue their good for against the Portuguese.

A small country on the coast of the Iberian Peninsula has a lot of hope in one footballer. Cristiano Ronaldo is the main focal point for the Portuguese National team, and the spotlight will be on him once the World Cup kicks off in Brazil.

The Seleção das Quinas will begin their preparation for the tournament today, against a Greek side that has troubled them in the past. If Paulo Bento’s side are going to finally defeat Greece, they will have to do so without the Real Madrid star, who will not take part in the match due to injury.

Paulo Bento was asked about a timetable for Ronaldo’s return, but even the Portuguese manager is reluctant to put a finger on an actual date.

“Just because we have the world’s best player on our squad doesn’t mean that we have to win the World Cup,” Paulo Bento told reporters on Friday morning. “Ronaldo will be with us tomorrow but he will not play.”

When asked if he would be ready for the opening match of the tournament against Germany, Bento seemed optimistic, yet hopeful.

“I don’t think about him not being ready, but in my head I have to be prepared for all the possible scenarios. But what I will not do is force a player to play if they are not in the proper conditions to do so. We want to have all our players prepared and physically fit on June 16th, so that they can all compete.”

Not having to go up against Ronaldo will be one less headache for the Greek manager, who is very familiar with the Portuguese squad.

Fernando Santos is just another Portuguese manager who is at the top-level, and being from the country, he will know enough about his opponent to hopefully cause some problems for the hosts.

Having guided Greece to only their third World Cup after defeating Romania in a play-off, Santos has announced he will step down at the end of the tournament in Brazil. But before he does that, he will want to leave a positive image with the Greek fans, who have followed him at the club level as well in their country.

Greece has won three of their last four meetings with Portugal, with two of those victories coming in the European Championship of 2004. Portugal was the hosting country, but that didn’t stop the Greeks from spoiling the party for the Lusitanos.

They last met in 2008 for a friendly match, with a brace from Giorgos Karagounis guiding his country to a 1-2 victory. From the starting XI that took the field for Portugal on that day, Pepe is the only player who is still in the squad, although Paulo Bento has also ruled him out of this match with an injury.