• Portugal coach says no one 'unsatisfied' with Ronaldo
• Real Madrid forward missed two glorious chances
Paulo Bento, the Portugal coach, praised his players for the character they showed to defeat Denmark and keep alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals. He also defended a woeful performance from Cristiano Ronaldo, unrecognisable from the Real Madrid forward who tormented defences in La Liga last season.
Silvestre Varela's 87th minute goal gave Portugal a 3-2 victory that has seen them supplant Denmark in second place in Group B, although it was impossible to overlook Ronaldo's shortcomings on a night when he cut a miserable figure.
Ronaldo missed two glorious one-on-one chances, picked up a late yellow card and generally looked a picture of frustration as he made no attempt to conceal his exasperation with team-mates whenever a pass went astray.
It was put to Bento that Ronaldo's frustration could be a sign that he is struggling to handle the pressure of captaining his country. "That's not my impression. That might be your impression," Bento said. "He has the same pressure as all the players that want to contribute to the game. He was in some difficult situations but, from our point of view, he has played two very good games and I am very certain that not a single player in our squad might be unsatisfied [with him].
"I think all of us are happy now. I think there will be a great responsibility for all of us because there will be a decisive game in a few days."
That fixture takes place on Sunday, when Portugal will be certain of progressing if they beat Holland. They led 2-0 here, following first-half goals from Pepe and Helder Postiga, but were pegged back when Nicklas Bendtner headed his second of the game in the 80th minute. Ronaldo had spurned a simple chance two minutes earlier.
"Cristiano, like I have said many times, is one of the best players in the world," his club-mate Pepe added. "We are all colleagues and a friend to help him. He has a great responsibility for the team and for Portugal. He couldn't score today but he has done this on other occasions. He helped the team and showed how professional he is and he will always do his best to bring about the win."
For Denmark, who take on Germany in Lviv on Sunday and also still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, it was a case of what might have been. Morten Olsen, the Danish manager, praised his players for recovering from a two-goal deficit but felt that fatigue contributed to Varela's late goal.
"It's a horrible feeling, so short before the end that you lose points," said Olsen, who was also shorn of Niki Zimling and Dennis Rommedahl with muscle injuries. "It's logic that we had the ball the most but it's about scoring. The last goal is, of course, a situation where people are tired, that's how it goes.
"We put in a fresh guy in [Lasse] Schone as a substitute and he had a great chance. Sometimes you are the lucky one – today I thought we were a bit unlucky, we could have deserved one point." Read More
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