• Joao Mario, right, and Bernardo Silva take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
    Joao Mario, right, and Bernardo Silva take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
  • Cristiano Ronaldo takes part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
    Cristiano Ronaldo takes part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
  • Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Guerreiro take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
    Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Guerreiro take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
  • Cristiano Ronaldo and Andre Silva take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
    Cristiano Ronaldo and Andre Silva take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
  • Gelson Martins, left, and Ricardo Quaresma take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
    Gelson Martins, left, and Ricardo Quaresma take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
  • Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Mario and Adrien Silva take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
    Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Mario and Adrien Silva take part in a training session for Portugal. Paulo Novais / EPA
  • Rui Mario, left, and Cedric Soares take part in a training session for Portugal. Francisco Leong / AFP
    Rui Mario, left, and Cedric Soares take part in a training session for Portugal. Francisco Leong / AFP
  • Pepe takes pictures with fans during Portugal's training session. Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
    Pepe takes pictures with fans during Portugal's training session. Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
  • Cristiano Ronaldo and Manuel Fernandes take part in a training session for Portugal. Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
    Cristiano Ronaldo and Manuel Fernandes take part in a training session for Portugal. Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
  • Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruben Dias take part in a training session for Portugal. Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
    Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruben Dias take part in a training session for Portugal. Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters

Ronaldo and Portugal take part in first World Cup training session in Russia - in pictures


  • English
  • Arabic

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal held their first World Cup training session on Sunday at the team's base in Kratovo, southeast of Moscow, five days ahead of their heavyweight opening clash against Spain.

All 23 players in Fernando Santos's squad took part in a 90-minute open training session held in light drizzle and chilly temperatures hovering just above 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit).

The European champions were put through a series of possession-based exercises before working on their finishing, with Valencia winger Goncalo Guedes, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, looking particularly sharp in front of goal.

____________

Read more on the 2018 World Cup:

Gary Meenaghan: World Cup fever fails to grip a Brazil still haunted by 'the 7-1'

____________

The squad was then divided into two teams for a game on a half-sized pitch, with Ronaldo at one point thumping a ball over the training complex's fence and into the trees in a fit of frustration.

The Real Madrid star's presence had earlier elicited cheers from the 100 or so fans in attendance, with a similar number of media present along the touchline.

Portugal, who were also celebrating the country's national day on Sunday, kick off their Group B campaign against 2010 world champions Spain in Sochi on June 15, before facing Morocco on June 20 and Iran five days later.

They are playing at a fifth straight World Cup -- the country's seventh appearance in total -- and will be hopeful of a much more successful tournament than in 2014, when they crashed out in the group stage.

Their best result saw them finish third in 1966.