Silvestre Varela came off the bench to score the winner three minutes from the end to give Portugal a 3-2 win over Denmark and revive his team's hopes of reaching the Euro 2012 quarter-finals.
Following their 1-0 loss to Germany on Saturday, Portugal knew another defeat would see them bow out of the competition and they began the game determined to bounce back from their weekend disappointment.
Paulo Bento's men broke the deadlock after 24 minutes as João Moutinho's corner picked out the run of the unmarked Pepe and the defender's glancing header beat Stephan Anderson at his near post.
Boosted by the goal Portugal continued to press forward and doubled their lead 12 minutes later with Hélder Postiga sided-footing home from close range.
Denmark were quick to react though, and halved the deficit within four minutes with when Michael Krohn-Dehli nodded a ball back across the six-yard box for Nicklas Bendtner to head into an empty net.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to win the match as the 27-year-old found himself one-on-one with Andersen, but his finish was side-footed well wide of the mark.
And just moments afterwards, Bendtner made him pay for the mistake, evading his marker at the back post to head home the equaliser.
However, there was a further twist three minutes from time when Varela's half-volley at the second attempt gave Portugal a dramatic victory.
Lineups:
Denmark: Stephan Andersen; Lars Jacobsen, Simon Kjær, Daniel Agger, Simon Poulsen; William Kvist, Niki Zimling (Jakob Poulsen, 16); Dennis Rommedahl (Tobias Mikkelsen, 60), Christian Eriksen, Michael Krohn-Dehli (Lasse Schøne, 90); Nicklas Bendtner
Portugal: Rui Patrício; João Pereira, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão; Raul Meireles (Silvestre Varela, 84), Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho; Nani (Rolando, 89), Hélder Postiga (Nélson Oliveira, 64), Cristiano Ronaldo
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| Portuguese forward Silvestre Varela shoots to score against Denmark Photo: Getty Images |
Following their 1-0 loss to Germany on Saturday, Portugal knew another defeat would see them bow out of the competition and they began the game determined to bounce back from their weekend disappointment.
Paulo Bento's men broke the deadlock after 24 minutes as João Moutinho's corner picked out the run of the unmarked Pepe and the defender's glancing header beat Stephan Anderson at his near post.
Boosted by the goal Portugal continued to press forward and doubled their lead 12 minutes later with Hélder Postiga sided-footing home from close range.
Denmark were quick to react though, and halved the deficit within four minutes with when Michael Krohn-Dehli nodded a ball back across the six-yard box for Nicklas Bendtner to head into an empty net.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to win the match as the 27-year-old found himself one-on-one with Andersen, but his finish was side-footed well wide of the mark.
And just moments afterwards, Bendtner made him pay for the mistake, evading his marker at the back post to head home the equaliser.
However, there was a further twist three minutes from time when Varela's half-volley at the second attempt gave Portugal a dramatic victory.
Lineups:
Denmark: Stephan Andersen; Lars Jacobsen, Simon Kjær, Daniel Agger, Simon Poulsen; William Kvist, Niki Zimling (Jakob Poulsen, 16); Dennis Rommedahl (Tobias Mikkelsen, 60), Christian Eriksen, Michael Krohn-Dehli (Lasse Schøne, 90); Nicklas Bendtner
Portugal: Rui Patrício; João Pereira, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão; Raul Meireles (Silvestre Varela, 84), Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho; Nani (Rolando, 89), Hélder Postiga (Nélson Oliveira, 64), Cristiano Ronaldo
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