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It was billed as a battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, two of the top footballers in the world.
Ronaldo was the clear winner as he scored the lone goal for Portugal in a 1-0 victory over Sweden in the first leg of their World Cup playoff -- although some would argue he should have been shown a red card prior to the brave diving header.
Ronaldo met Miguel Veloso's sumptuous cross in the 82nd minute just as it looked like he -- and his teammates -- would have to settle for a draw in Lisbon.
The tie, however, is still in the balance after Ronaldo missed another good chance, striking the crossbar in the 86th minute with a further header.
"It was an important step to reach the World Cup but not yet decisive," Portugal manager Paulo Bento told reporters.
Earlier in the second half, Ronaldo appeared to headbutt Swedish defender Mikael Lustig. Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli opted not to punish the Real Madrid star but later showed him a yellow card for clipping Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson.
Ibrahimovic was silenced but will be looking forward to the return leg in Sweden on Tuesday.
France faces an uphill climb to reach the 2014 World Cup, meanwhile, after losing 2-0 to Ukraine and Greece is almost in Brazil following a 3-1 win over Romania.
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In Lisbon, the start was far from cautious.
In the fifth minute, Raul Meireles' through ball picked out Joao Moutinho and he did well to round the keeper. But his shot from a tight angle went wide.
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The Swedes built on their early superiority -- Sebastian Larsson's shot stung the palms of Rui Patricio and Kim Kallstrom's fiercely struck free kick from a yard outside the box flashed wide of Patricio's post,[url=http://www.okskor.se/nike-free-38]Nike Free Run[/url].
Portugal, though, dominated possession in the second half and the Swedes were left to defend.
In the 50th minute, Pepe and Helder Postiga caused havoc in the Swedish box and 12 minutes later only a great block prevented a certain Portugal goal.
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"We played a good game defensively," said Swedish boss Erik Hamren. "The goal was unnecessary. We were careless with that cross."
France stutters
France last missed a major tournament in 1994 and must mount a comeback Tuesday at the Stade de France to keep the streak alive.
The visitor rarely threatened and Ukraine took the lead when Roman Zozulia's effort eluded Hugo Lloris -- who returned to action after suffering a head injury while playing for club side Tottenham two weeks ago -- in the 61st minute.
Laurent Koscielny brought down the impressive Zozulia for a penalty that Andriy Yarmolenko converted in the 82nd minute and the Arsenal defender later saw red as he tangled with Oleksandr Kucher. Kucher was also dismissed.
Just last summer, France beat Ukraine on the road at Euro 2012.
"It's obviously a very bad result," France manager Didier Deschamps told French television. "We have to believe (we can advance) but Ukraine are the team in the best position to qualify."
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