LONDON: England wrapped up their pre-tournament preparations for Euro 2012 with a 1-0 win over Belgium at Wembley on Saturday courtesy of Danny Welbeck’s maiden international goal.
Manchester United youngster Welbeck struck on 37 minutes to make it two wins out of two for new England manager Roy Hodgson following last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Norway in Oslo.
The 21-year-old’s cool finish was a rare moment of class from England, who struggled to create genuine goalscoring chances in their last game before their daunting Euro 2012 opener against France in Donetsk on June 11.
Arsenal teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made the most of his first senior start, but blazed over after eight minutes following James Milner’s cutback.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was off-target again moments later after Ashley Cole released Welbeck down the left, shooting over once more.
The festive mood amongst both sets of fans was not matched by players in the middle meanwhile, and the opening exhanges were notable for a string of feisty collisions which led to bookings for both teams.
Dries Mertens was the first to be cautioned on 17 minutes for a sly shove on Gary Cahill that sent the Chelsea defender crashing into goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Portugal missed several chances, including a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, and were whistled off the pitch after losing 3-1 at home to Turkey on Saturday in their last friendly before Euro 2012.
The hosts started aggressively, pressed high up the pitch and seemed to be in control of the match until the defence was caught napping by Turkey winger Sercan Sararer who set up Umut Bulut for a tap-in after 35 minutes.
Portugal striker Hugo Almeida did little to appease the sell-out 65,000 crowd at the Luz stadium when he misplaced a pass to a team mate when it seemed easier to shoot.
The Turks, who failed to qualify for the Euros, were hardly brilliant but did at least take their chances.
Bulut added salt to Portugal’s wounds by drilling in the second goal in the 52nd minute after taking advantage of a careless ball from Miguel Veloso.
Portugal pulled one back five minutes later after a flowing move ended in a a fine finish from Nani and captain Ronaldo then missed from the spot in the 65th minute following a foul on right back Miguel Lopes.
Many home fans started drifting home before Turkey’s third goal came when Ricardo Costa’s goalline clearance rebounded off Pepe into the net.
The defeat means Portugal will start Euro 2012 after a run of three matches without a win.
Netherlands hit six in final warm-up match
Inspired by an impressive Robin van Persie, the Netherlands finished their Euro 2012 preparations in fine style by thrashing Northern Ireland 6-0 in Amsterdam on Saturday.
After consecutive losses to Bayern Munich and Bulgaria and a laboured 2-0 win over Slovakia, the beaten finalists at the last World Cup reasserted their Euro credentials as they prepare to fly out to their base in Krakow, Poland.
The one-sided success against a Northern Ireland side ranked 87th in the world also validated the tactical choices of coach Bert van Marwijk, notably in attack.
Van Marwijk appears to have definitively settled on van Persie to spearhead the Dutch attack, relegating Bundesliga top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Schalke to a place on the bench.
Perfectly supported by playmaker Wesley Sneijder, and with Arjen Robben and Ibrahim Afellay in menacing mood on the flanks, Arsenal striker van Persie scored two goals. (Agencies)