It’s no mean feat to get yourself sent off after just 35 minutes of a friendly game, however, that’s exactly what Bruno Alves managed during England’s clash with Portugal on Thursday evening.
England were struggling in the first-half of the game at Wembley, when Kyle Walker headed the ball on to Harry Kane on the right flank.
However, while the striker tried to flick the ball past on onrushing Bruno Alves, the Portuguese defender lead with a ridiculously high right boot, catching Kane in the head…
Bruno Alves 😲pic.twitter.com/dtoURSi0Mc
— Back Page Football (@bpfootball) June 2, 2016
Thankfully, the wild and dangerous challenge didn’t injure Kane, who, to his credit, seemed rather nonplussed. However, referee Marco Guida correctly sent off the 34-year-old Alves for his moment of madness.
As for the game itself, England struggled against a Portugal side without the rested Cristiano Ronaldo. However, despite the attacking triumvirate of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney failing to click, the Three Lions did eventually score, via a late strike from Chris Smalling…
England 1-0 Portugal Chris Smalling Goalhttps://t.co/I9z9i3evrY
— Man Utd Videos ⚽️ (@ManUtdVines) June 2, 2016
England’s performance won’t have pleased either manager Roy Hodgson or the Wembley fans, and with Euro 2016 now just a week away, there remains a lot of work to do on the training field.