January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Key battles
Can Cole clip Ronaldo's wings?
When Ronaldo limped off in tears mid-way tagainst Holland it looked like his World Cup was over.
But now it looks like the Manchester United winger is back and we suspect Ashley Cole is actually relishing the challenge.
When these two sides met in Euro 2004 Cole had Ronaldo in his pocket for the entire game — a performance which proved he can defend as well as attack.
He thrives on this kind of assignment and has never been embarrassed by Ronaldo when his Arsenal side have come up against Manchester United.
It will be interesting to see if Ronaldo actually starts on the left-flank and lines up against Gary Neville instead — using his pace to test out his club-mate's thigh injury. Whatever happens keeping Ronaldo quiet is crucial to England's chances and in Ashley Cole they have a man who has proven he can do just that.[[In-content Ad]]
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