WATCH: Portugal Produced One Of The Worst Free-Kick Routines You'll Ever See

Without skipper and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal clinched bronze in the Confederations Cup third place play-off with Mexico in an eventful game in Moscow.

Goals from Pepe and Adrien Silva, the latter scoring from the spot in extra time, completed the turnaround for Fernando Santos' side after an own goal from Neto had put Mexico ahead in the second half.

Image: PA

As well as the game featuring two red cards in extra time, the match saw one of the worst free-kick routines in recent memory.

Check it out here:

Credit: Reddit/r/soccer

Prior to Silva's winning goal in extra time, Portugal experimented with a free-kick routine. The idea itself was quite promising. We can all applaud a team for trying something new from a set-piece and not lashing the ball into the box or having a shot.

But the end result for the European champions was a stark contrast to what they had probably envisioned on the training field.

It started off quite well, with William Carvalho and Ricardo Quaresma suckering the Mexico defenders in with deft dummies.

That was about as good as it got though, as Quaresma opted to play the ball back to his teammate, who when pressured by the opposition, panicked and passed the ball straight out of play for a throw-in.

Tshepo

@_tshepomalele

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Lol all the Portugal players wanted to take the free kick, it shows CR7 is not there

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If that was the last chance of the game, in the dying embers, with Portugal trailing 1-0, then there would have been uproar.

Fortunately for A Selecção, they weren't made to rue the opportunity as Sporting CP midfielder Adrien Silva did the business from 12 yards after Gelson Martins forced a handball from a Mexico defender.

If you're wanting to see what a real free-kick routine looks like, just ask Alexandre Pato.

He accidentally came up with the most free-kick ever against Guangzhou Evergrande in a 4-3 Chinese Super League game on Sunday when he played a one-two with the referee.

Definitely worth trying in your next Sunday League crunch clash...

(h/t Give Me Sport)

Topics: Football, Free-kick, Portugal

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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