Cristiano Ronaldo warned Portugal will be &ldquo;ready for the fight&rdquo; when they line up for next week&rsquo;s European Championship semi-final after his header beat the Czech Republic in Warsaw. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/jun/Ronaldo_1.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 432px; " /> Acrobatic: Portugal ace Cristiano Ronaldo attempts an overhead kick against Czech Republic. Pics/Getty Images. The Real Madrid forward had twice hit the woodwork and seen his team have a goal chalked off for offside before he arrived on cue in the six-yard box to nod in Joao Moutinho&rsquo;s cross on 79 minutes at the National Stadium. Ronaldo showed the same kind of sparkle that saw the Portugal captain dominate play and claim a brace in his team&rsquo;s 2-1 defeat of the Netherlands last Sunday &mdash; goals he had dedicated to his son, who turned two the same day. The Czechs &mdash; with captain Tomas Rosicky, the Arsenal midfielder, only on the bench because of an Achilles injury &mdash; had started brightly, but lacked a cutting edge in the final third. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/jun/Ronaldo-Portugal.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 277px; " /> 79th minute: Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (centre) heads the ball into the back of the net during Thursday&rsquo;s quarter-final tie against Czech Republic in Warsaw By contrast Portugal, who came through the &lsquo;Group of Death&rsquo; behind Germany, looked a fluid outfit and but for some wayward finishing and the width of a post could have won by a more comfortable margin. Either France or world champions Spain will await in Donetsk on June 27, and former Manchester United frontman Ronaldo maintained: &ldquo;We know it is going to be difficult, but we are ready, we are confident. We are very mature, so we are ready for the fight.&rdquo; Despite Ronaldo grabbing the headlines, Portugal coach Paulo Bento was reluctant to single out any individual performances. &ldquo;All the players have tasks on the pitch, and Ronaldo played to our tactical system,&rdquo; the Portugal coach said. Portuguese winger Nani, who also had an outstanding game, said that the victory while long in coming was deserved. &ldquo;We played really well, we were stylish on the pitch and it was a great team effort,&rdquo; said the Manchester United star. Postiga to miss semis Striker Helder Postiga has been ruled out of next week&rsquo;s semi-final through injury, the Portuguese football federation have confirmed. Postiga was replaced just before half-time against the Czechs after suffering what the FPF have announced is a &ldquo;a muscle injury to the back of the right thigh.&rdquo;

Milan Baros retires after defeat

Ronaldo says mature Portugal can stand up to bigger teams, after sending Czech republic home in quarter-final

Mature Portugal can stand up to bigger teams: Ronaldo after beating Czech

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Home / Sports / Cricket / Article / Mature Portugal can stand up to bigger teams: Ronaldo after beating Czech

Mature Portugal can stand up to bigger teams: Ronaldo after beating Czech

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