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Portugal battled past a determined Chile side to secure a 2-1 victory in their second-last World Cup warm-up match on Saturday, though the scoreline only partly reflected the intensity of the contest.

At the Estádio Nacional do Jamor, Roberto Martínez’s men dominated possession and territory for much of the game but were repeatedly denied by Chile’s inspired goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux. The Swansea City custodian made crucial saves to keep out Rúben Dias early on and later thwarted Cristiano Ronaldo. Rafael Leão also came close, striking the post as Portugal pressed hard for an opener.

Ronaldo thought he had finally opened the scoring before half-time, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. The first half also turned fiery despite the friendly billing of the fixture. Tensions escalated when João Cancelo and Maximiliano Falcón were involved in a heated exchange, leading to red cards for Rafael Leão and Iván Román after an off-the-ball clash.

After the interval, Portugal maintained their attacking momentum and were rewarded in the 57th minute. Substitute Gonçalo Guedes latched onto a brilliant through ball from Rúben Neves and finished calmly past Vigouroux to make it 1-0.

The hosts extended their lead midway through the second half when Bruno Fernandes capitalised on a defensive lapse by Chile, striking from the edge of the box. The goal elevated the Manchester United midfielder into Portugal’s top five all-time scorers, equalling Nuno Gomes with 29 international goals.

Chile managed to pull one back in stoppage time through Lucas Cepeda, but Portugal comfortably held on for the win as they look ahead to their final pre-World Cup friendly against Nigeria.