Debut delight as Liedson saves Portugal

Brazilian-born Liedson rescued Portugal’s faltering World Cup campaign on Saturday with a header three minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw against Group One leaders Denmark.

But the result may still not be enough to ensure Cristiano Ronaldo’s side, who were semi-finalists in 2006, make the 2010 finals in South Africa.

They have slumped to fourth place, seven points behind Denmark, three behind Hungary and two back from Sweden who won 2-1 against the Hungarians in Budapest.

All four have three games left to play.

When these sides met in Lisbon last September, Portugal suffered a spectacular meltdown when they allowed the Danes to score twice in the last four minutes to secure a 3-2 win.

Portugal, coached by former Manchester United assistant boss Carlos Queiroz, dominated most of the opening 45 minutes on Saturday, but fell behind two minutes before the interval.

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner smartly chested the ball down just on the edge of the six-yard box and thumped a fierce drive in off the crossbar past Eduardo in the Portugal goal.

Portugal brought on Liedson, who recently became a Portuguese citizen, at half-time but the 31-year-old Sporting Lisbon player’s first major contribution was to get booked after just three minutes on the pitch.

The Portuguese continued to pile on the pressure.

They brought on veteran striker Nuno Gomes with 10 minutes left while Chelsea star Deco curled a free-kick just over the bar in the 83rd minute.

With just three minutes left, Liedson rose above the defence to head a leveller for Portugal.