Portugal boss Paulo Bento refused to accept criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo at his pre-match press conference ahead of the meeting with Netherlands.

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While Portugal bounced back from the 1-0 defeat to Germany in their opener to beat Denmark 3-2 in their last match, Ronaldo has not been able to produce his best form and has been criticised for missing chances.

Bento, though, hit out at the media for the coverage Ronaldo has received and said other areas of the team would be more logical targets for criticism.

"It's typical of the mentality of certain people in Portuguese football," Bento said. "We lose our first match undeservedly and you focus on the fact that he doesn't score.

"It was the same for the victory against the Danish. I'm particularly annoyed by the two avoidable goals that we conceded, but it's Ronaldo missing two chances that is the focus of all the commentary."

There are also those who feel Ronaldo has not done enough to help his team-mates defensively, and Bento suggest that his captain would be expected to work hard against Netherlands on Sunday.

"What we've done so far is to try to have a balance between offence and defence,” Bento said. “I want the whole team to be united, consistent, and that includes defensive work of the more offensive players."

Netherlands boss Bert van Marwijk also gave short shrift to reporters as he attended a conference alongside Mark van Bommel.

The Dutch have yet to take a point at this year’s tournament, and Van Bommel was one of the players to have been criticised for his showing in the 2-1 defeat to Germany.

There has been debate over whether Van Bommel would start the Portugal match, with his presence at the press conference seeming to point towards his inclusion, but Van Marwijk reacted angrily to questions on the subject.

“As soon as we begin, you start talking about the first XI,” he said. “You can make your own conclusions."

Asked if Van Bommel was under pressure, he added: "There is always going to be pressure on players - on me as well."

Netherlands' only hope of progress is to beat Portugal by two clear goals and hope Denmark lose to Germany.

"We need Germany to win but we know from the start we have to win by two goals and I will keep that in mind," Van Marwijk said. "We have to go for it - that's what the tactics are based on. The tactics will reflect that situation."