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CAMPINAS, Brazil -- Cristiano Ronaldo again wore a brace on his troublesome left knee Friday, triggering a new wave of questions over his health as his Portugal team held its final World Cup training session before departing for a crucial game against the United States. The reigning world player of the year took part in some light workouts with the first team, followed by stretching. He was smiling and appeared at ease at practice at the team base in Campinas, northwest of Sao Paulo, as he took part in a playful game of keep away from teammates. The team was set to leave later in the day for Manaus for its matchup with the U.S. on Sunday. Portugal was humiliated in a 4-0 defeat by Germany in their opener. Another loss and the fourth-ranked team in the world could be eliminated even before its final Group G game against Ghana. Ronaldo has been hampered by tendinitis and a muscle injury since before the tournament, creating plenty of speculation about how he would perform in Brazil. He was doubtful to play before the Germany game, but declared himself fit and went on to produce a subdued performance that only added to the usual drama and scrutiny surrounding the player. Team officials dismissed reports suggesting that Ronaldo could be risking his health by playing, saying they were tired of having to deny every rumour about a player many consider to be the worlds best. They noted, however, that he often plays with a brace and said hes healthy and would play against the U.S. Teammate Helder Postiga also expressed frustration over the media circus around Ronaldo. "I have already answered so many questions about Cristiano Ronaldo. Actually we speak about him every day. If I am sick of it, imagine how he is feeling," Postiga said. "If he is available enough to train with us thats probably because he is feeling well. Hes been training with us all these days and as usual he always gives his best. Hes just fine." Ronaldo has been one of the best players in the world for about a decade, and last year he even passed Lionel Messi by ending the Argentina forwards streak of winning the FIFA Ballon dOr. He has also excelled on the world stage, helping Portugal reach the 2004 European Championship final and the 2006 World Cup semifinals. The team also advanced out of the group stage at both Euro 2008 and the last World Cup, and then reached the semifinals at Euro 2012. Although he is Portugals all-time record scorer with 49 goals in 111 appearances, Ronaldo scored just twice in the last two World Cups. Air Max 270 Outlet Italia . Belfort was originally schedule to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 173 on May 24, but a Nevada State Athletic Commission ban on testosterone replacement therapy forced the former light heavyweight champ to withdraw. Air Max 270 Saldi . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay. http://www.airmax270outlet.it/ . Coverage on TSN is underway now while action resumes on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. TSN GO also offers TSN subscribers bonus online coverage, with live streams of all four venues. Air Max 270 Outlet . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season. Air Max 270 Offerta . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. SONOMA, Calif. -- Jamie McMurray took the time to help rookie teammate Kyle Larson learn the road course at Sonoma Raceway. The payoff for working together was two Chip Ganassi Racing cars in the top three of the starting field of Sundays race. McMurray won the pole for Sundays race with a track record lap that bumped AJ Allmendinger from the top starting spot, and Larson qualified a surprising third. Allmendinger seemed to have the pole locked down until McMurray turned a lap at 96.350 mph in the final minute of Saturdays qualifying session. It broke the record of 95.262 mph set by Marcos Ambrose in 2012. "Great lap, I am so excited," McMurray said. "I thought our car in race trim was really good, really good on the long runs. Were not going to change a whole lot, I feel really good about it." Its the first pole of the season for McMurray, 10th of his career, and third at Sonoma. McMurray also started from the pole last year but finished 25th. He called the qualifying session stressful under NASCARs new knockout format. McMurray was on the verge of being eliminated in the first of the two rounds, but he went out for one last lap to advance into the top 12. Then he bumped Allmendinger as the clock wound down on the final 10-minute session. "I think everybody in the garage area has been stressed out about trying to get that clean lap in qualifying all weekend long," McMurray said. "This knockout qualifying is just an emotional roller-coaster. Theres a lot of highs and lows with it." Allmendinger wound up second in a race he believes he can win. He was out of the Sprint Cup Series a year ago because of a failed random NASCAR drug test in 2012, so while the series was racing at Sonoma, Allmendinger was in the Nationwide Series race at Road America. He delivered in the Wisconsin race for his first career victory and found his way back into a full-time ride in Cup. He wasnt disappointed after McMurray bumped him from the pole, but it eyeing another win. "We were in position to have (the pole), so it could be a lot worse," Allmendinger said. "It sucks when you are that close, but you know whatt? Jamie put in a heck of a lap.dddddddddddd Weve got a clean view of the track when we go green and were going to have some fun tomorrow. Weve got a pretty good shot to win this thing." In a surprise, McMurrays rookie teammate Kyle Larson was third to give Chip Ganassi Racing two cars in the top three. Larson doesnt have a ton of road course experience, and the rookie is admittedly still learning how to shift. Larson, who replaced road course specialist Juan Pablo Montoya in the Ganassi entry, seemed surprised by his run. "It would be interesting to see what Juan could have done today in my car because I dont feel Im that good on road courses," Larson said. "Ive never raced here before. I really rely on McMurray -- I sat in the lounge with him for 15 or 20 minutes and he just went through every corner with me and tried to give me as much information as I needed. Carl Edwards was fourth and followed by Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman. The rest of the top 12 included Brian Vickers, Paul Menard, Joey Logano, Danica Patrick and Casey Mears. Patrick has now advanced into the final round of qualifying five times this season. "We would have liked it to be better, but well take it," Patrick said. Hendrick Motorsports goes into Sundays race looking to extend its five-race winning streak, but its drivers will have to come from deep in the field to make it six straight. Jeff Gordon, the all-time winner at Sonoma with five victories, was the highest-qualifying Hendrick driver at 15th. "We pride ourselves on being good on the road courses, especially here at Sonoma," Gordon said. "Obviously we will talk to our teammates, and see what they were dealing with as well. Very disappointed to not have any Hendrick cars in the top-12." Jimmie Johnson, winner of three of the last four races, qualified 22nd. Its his lowest starting spot at Sonoma since 2007. Failing to advance in the final group of 12 in qualifying were road course favourites Tony Stewart, the only Stewart-Haas Racing driver not to make it into the final group, as well as Ambrose and defending race winner Martin Truex Jr. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '