Sebastian Larsson claims Sweden will be able to give Cristiano Ronaldo a rough ride in tonight’s World Cup play-off in Stockholm because English referee Howard Webb will not fall for his “tricks”.

One of football’s superstars will miss out on the World Cup next year after Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side were drawn against Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden in the European play-offs for next year’s finals.

Michael O’Neill watched his Northern Ireland side defy the odds to grind out a draw against Portugal, then declared: “I’m proud to be their manager”.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as a "goal machine" ahead of tonight's World Cup qualifier against Portugal, then told his players they must find a way to stop him.

The Republic of Ireland remain 26th in the latest FIFA rankings, which were released this morning.

Portugal manager Paulo Bento will be forced to field a weakened backline in tomorrow’s friendly against Panama at the Estádio Algarve after central defenders Pepe and Bruno Alves pulled out through injury.

Portugal 0 Spain 0 (After extra-time. Spain win 4-2 on penalties)

There might be 22 players on the pitch when Portugal take on Spain tonight but there is only one man all of Donetsk appears to be talking about — Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo warned Portugal will be “ready for the fight” when they line up for next week’s European Championship semi-final after his header beat the Czech Republic in Warsaw.

Cristiano Ronaldo warned Portugal will be “ready for the fight” when they line up for next week’s European Championship semi-final after his header beat the Czech Republic in Warsaw last night.

Czech Republic 0 Portugal 1

Netherlands winger Arjen Robben has hinted dressing room unrest undermined their Euro 2012 challenge which ended on Sunday night following a third successive defeat.

RUI COSTA led the so-called golden generation and Deco masterminded Luiz Felipe Scolari’s more combative side but now there is a big hole in the Portugal midfield.

Dutch winger Arjen Robben has hinted dressing room unrest undermined their Euro 2012 challenge which ended last night following a third successive defeat.

Holland coach Bert van Marwijk admitted his big names had failed to deliver as the humiliated Dutch departed Euro 2012.

Substitute Silvestre Varela kept alive Portugal’s hopes of qualifying from Group B with a late strike to spare the blushes of some of his more illustrious team-mates in Lviv.

Portugal coach Paulo Bento felt his side deserved their 3-2 victory over Denmark in Lviv, insisting it would have been “unjust” had his side been held to a draw.

Portugal 3 Denmark 2

“Six years ago we were the predators, now we are the prey,” said Portuguese paper Publico yesterday, of a match where the Danes can afford to wait to catch their opponents on the break, whereas Portugal have to score.

Germany coach Joachim Loew felt Mario Gomez’s winning goal in the Euro 2012 victory over Portugal justified his decision to start with the Bayern Munich striker ahead of Miroslav Klose.

FABIO CAPELLO was relieved to avoid the difficult Group B at Euro 2012 and content with England’s “balanced” Group D draw.

PORTUGAL boss Paulo Bento will demand patience from his players as they try to secure a place at Euro 2012 tonight against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 Portugal 0

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA failed to make the most of home advantage as they played out a terrible goalless draw with Portugal in the first leg of their Euro 2012 play-off in Zenica.

Bosnia-Herzegovina 0 Portugal 0

CHARISMA can have extraordinary power. In the summer of 2008, Miroslav Blazevic took over a Bosnian national side in crisis.

The Portuguese Football Federation have banned Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho for 12 months for walking out on the national squad last month.

Manchester United winger Nani will be under the spotlight as he looks to fill the void left by injured captain Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal host Chile in an international friendly on Saturday night.

Spain striker Fernando Llorente described his side’s performance as “awful in every respect” after seeing the world champions crash to a comprehensive 4-0 friendly defeat at the hands of local rivals Portugal.

Portugal 4 Spain 0

FORMER world champions Italy are the latest team to realise you cannot take Northern Ireland lightly.

Paulo Bento has been appointed as the new coach of Portugal.

The Portuguese Football Federation want Jose Mourinho to take charge of the national team for their next two Euro 2012 qualifiers in October, according to a report.

BAYERN MUNICH coach Jurgen Klinsmann has promised to take tonight’s Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon seriously, even though he intends to rest several key players after establishing a comfortable lead in the first leg.

GARY MEGSON paid the price for fielding an under-strength side as Bolton followed Everton and Spurs out of this season’s UEFA Cup at the last-16 stage.

Sporting Lisbon 1 Bolton 0 (Agg: 2-1)

Alex Ferguson is confident Cristiano Ronaldo will go on to have the best years of his life at Manchester United.

ONE of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s greatest attributes is his ability to make his squad bond as a group, to believe that no one player is more important than any other, and to give his team a collective belief that they can win any match.

Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari paid tribute to the “spirit of a nation” which he believes helped inspire his side to the historic victory over Spain.

Portugal have protested against having Hugh Dallas as the match official for their Group D game against Poland.