Portugal too strong for Croatia Sunday, November 13, 2005
Pauleta celebrates with Ronaldo
Goals from Armando Petit and Pedro Pauleta handed Portugal a 2-0 win over Croatia in a friendly meeting between two World Cup qualifiers on Saturday.
After guiding his side successfully through qualifying, Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari will be looking to put the finishing touches to his World Cup plans through the winter and his charges confidently brushed aside Croatia.
Both sides were not at full strength, but it was Portugal who adapted the better and sealed victory thanks to goals in either half from Petit and Pauleta.
Petit netted the opener on 33 minutes, with the midfielder thrilling the crowd when curling home a superb 20-yard free kick.
Pauleta has an enviable goalscoring record for his country and he made the game safe when netting from a tight angle - his 43rd in a Portuguese jersey - on 65 minutes.
Croatia's best chance fell to Bosko Balaban whose shot from the edge of the box crashed against the bar, but they rarely threatened to deny Portugal victory.
