It was billed as Cristiano Ronaldo vs Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Two superstars in the game head-to-head on a billboard and then on the field. One winner goes to the World Cup in Brazil; the loser stays home. It is a duel and a plot that would make Don King, Dana White or Vince McMahon weak at the knees. The trio would likely remove the 20 extras placed on the pitch for a real one-on-one duel but this was not solely about entertainment. Not in leg one of the two-legged affair, anyway. The Estadio de Luz in Lisbon was the stage, with two main characters in it, but it was always going to be more than just the two captains. At least for most of the game. We were sold on Ronaldo vs Ibra but the moment the matchup started it turned into an 11-man tag team match. Their faces would never appear on billboards but captains Ronaldo and Ibra tapped in others to attempt to gain a vital advantage for their team. Right back Joao Pereira had his moment in the middle of the ring, given constant space down the right flank, thanks to a Swedish narrow back four by design, to target Martin Olsson, while midfielders Joao Moutinho and Raul Meireles dictated the tempo in midfield enjoying an extra man against Sweden wanting to play a man closer to their talisman, Ibrahimovic. The man with that responsibility was Johan Elmander, known more these days for his work rate rather than his goals (never a good thing for a striker), but next to the PSG man he provided a comfort blanket. Swedish coach Erik Hamren will have had nightmares of his team playing a 9-0-1 system with Ibrahimovic as disconnected to his team-mates as he is in overall talent. Ibra would tap Elmander into the theatre to sit defensively on Miguel Veloso and provide an aerial, physical threat that would create more space for himself. At times it worked but at halftime, with the game scoreless, the stats showed just what everyone, other than the aggressive promoters, knew too well. Ronaldos 23 touches ranked ninth on his team with only his goalkeeper and ineffective striker, Helder Postiga, less involved. Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, was involved even less, touching it just 17 times, and more than just three of his teammates. With so much on the line, it was predictably cagey. Ronaldo hit a free kick into a wall, at the other end Ibrahimovic stood over one for Sweden before tapping Kim Kallstrom into the ring and the left footed midfielder blasted the ball inches wide of the top left post. The Swedes offered the flanks to Portugal and they gladly took them. It allowed Pereira and left back Fabio Coentrao to play larger parts than they have for their clubs this season but it also forced Ronaldo and Nani inside, to play closer to the front man, and that made it easier to defend against, particularly with the ineffective Manchester United winger often giving the ball away. The first 45 minutes was average and the next 35 was even worse. Sweden got deeper and deeper, hoping for a sucker punch from a set piece, but this Portugal side is too mature for that. What the Ronaldo vs Ibra hype monsters failed to recognize was this Portugal team is comfortable when Ronaldo isnt involved. The midfield three have an understanding on how to control a game and their two centre backs rarely make a mistake and are far too experienced and talented to be overawed by the presence of Ibrahimovic. Ronaldo is used to letting his team do the work until he pounces. Four years ago in a World Cup playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Real Madrid man missed both legs through injury. His place in the World Cup lay in the hands of his teammates and they delivered. Two years ago, again in a playoff against Bosnia, Portugal were resolute in a 0-0 first leg away from home before coming home and allowing the brilliant Ronaldo to start a 6-2 onslaught with a trademark free kick goal. At the European Championships last summer, Ronaldo was poor against Denmark in the group stage but his team won at the death 3-2. They waited for the genius to step up and he did exactly that, with brilliant performances against the Dutch and Czechs, carrying his team to a semifinal against Spain where they matched the World Champions in all departments except penalties. That day in Donetsk, Ronaldo chose to be the fifth taker in the shootout and, uncharacteristically, his teammates let him down. Ronaldo couldnt save them that time, denied a penalty in a 4-2 shootout loss. Portugal has never done things the easy way and thats why they found themselves, once again, on show against Zlatan and his 10 extras in Lisbon on Friday night. It appeared the game was heading towards a drab 0-0 until Portugal found space again down the left flank. Veloso, this time, was the man on the wing, taking a fast throw in, creating a quick one-two with substitute Hugo Almeida, before sending in a delicious ball that needed a brave run and head on the end of it. As the ball swung dangerously into the six yard box, the main character had his big moment in the plot. Ronaldo brushed aside Olsson, getting his head to the ball and sending it into the net for the games only goal. At a similar time to his headed winner against the Czechs at last summers European Championships, Ronaldo had done it once again, delivering the key blow of the game and, possibly, the knockout blow in the matchup. It was a fitting moment. Portugal is too often criticized for not being good enough for Ronaldo but they are certainly good enough to provide him with yet another big platform to deliver on and that is why it is important they advance over Sweden in this playoff. A common thought heading into this game was that it will be sad that both Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic will not be in Brazil, but the reality is it will be a complete let down if a man as talented as Ronaldo is not in Brazil. He is on a different level to Ibrahimovic, who is a fine player himself, showing regularly, just like in this match, that he is one of the finest players to play the game. In Portugal he has a team that wont win the World Cup but they are certainly good enough to give him opportunities to show the world his talent (unlike Sweden with Ibrahimovic). In South Africa they had a coach who wouldnt allow that to happen but under Paulo Bento things are different. They do, of course, only have one foot on the plane to Brazil and their final destination will be determined in Sweden on Tuesday. It will likely be billed as Ronaldo holding advantage over Ibrahimovic, but it should be promoted as being the show that should book Ronaldos ticket to Brazil. That is one certainly worth signing up for. Earl Watford Cardinals Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Alex Okafor Cardinals Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. http://www.azcardinalsfanspro.com/Black-Carson-Palmer-Cardinals-Jersey.html?cat=863 . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Kurt Warner Cardinals Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. John Brown Cardinals Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Budding star Chase Elliott has landed a full-time NASCAR ride for 2014 with JR Motorsports, with surprise sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts. Elliott, the son of 1988 NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, will race for the Nationwide Series title at JRM driving the No. 9 Chevrolet in a nod to his fathers longtime number. The ride became possible when NAPA reversed its decision to leave NASCAR following the scandal surrounding Michael Waltrip Racings attempt to manipulate a September race to get Martin Truex Jr. into the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. NAPA issued a harsh rebuke of MWR and ended its multimillion-dollar sponsorship of Truex one year into a three-year contract extension with MWR. That cost Truex his ride at MWR and forced the organization to lay off about a third of its workforce. But the Atlanta-based company had a change of heart, deciding to return for a 19th season in NASCAR to back the up-and-coming Elliott. The Elliotts are from Dawsonville, Georgia, roughly an hour from NAPA headquarters, and Chase didnt become eligible to compete full-time in NASCAR until he turned 18 at the end of November. "NAPA is pleased to continue its long standing involvement in NASCAR, the most popular form of motorsports in the United States supported by its many loyal and passionate fans," said Dan Askey, president of NAPA. "Chase Elliott is a young and talented, future star in the sport and will represent NAPA well both on and off the track." NAPA representatives declined interviews. Elliott will make his Nationwide debut at the Feb. 22 season opening race at Daytona. He will report for testing this weekend and be paired with crew chief Greg Ives, who led Regan Smith to a pair of wins and a third-place finish in the standings at JRM last season. "This is an opportunity of a lifetime for me, a chance to make a career of this," Elliott said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I couldnt ask for anything more than a chance with JR Motorsports, the backing of Rick Hendrick, and the support of NAPA. I think to have that connection with NAPA is really, really neat. The headquarters is not far from our house, and to me, that goes a lot further than you think. For both of us to come from Georgia, my home state, is special." Elliott has been in the Heendrick Motorsports development program since 2011, when he was a freshman in high school.dddddddddddd His first NASCAR K&N Series win was at Iowa in 2012, and he became the youngest superspeedway winner in ARCA history at Pocono last June. He then won in the Truck Series in only his sixth start when he won at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in September. "I think the Nationwide Series is only a short step for him," said JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Hes that good." JRM will field two full-time teams this season with Elliott and Smith in the No. 7 Chevrolet. The organization will also run the No. 5 with Kevin Harvick on a limited basis and the No. 88 with Earnhardt Jr. Ryan Pemberton will replace Ives as Smiths crew chief. "This will be the strongest line-up weve put on the track since we started racing full time in 2006," said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports. Elliott will try to become only the fifth multi-generational NASCAR champion. His father won 44 Cup races, including two Daytona 500s; "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" was also a 16-time winner of NASCARs Most Popular Driver Award. "No doubt the historical element of this is pretty cool," said Earnhardt Jr. "Bill Elliott is one of the greats. Ive always looked up to him. He had some great battles with my dad. I think there are a lot of Elliott fans and Earnhardt fans that will take interest in Chases career and support him 100 per cent." Elliott will spend the first half of the Nationwide season juggling his first full-time job and the second semester of his senior year of high school in Georgia. The school has been flexible in working with Elliott as hes pursued his racing career, but the Nationwide schedule will be his most intensive racing to date and mother, Cindy, spent part of Monday discussing a plan with administrators. "I hope they are understanding because this is a full-time job and one that will require me to be gone a lot -- but second semester of senior year of high school? Theres usually not a lot going on," he said. "I hope that side of it is manageable because I really think Ive been given a lot in this situation. I feel things are positioned here at the shop, with NAPA, everything is aligned for success." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '