A Raul Meireles strike gave Portugal a 1-0 lead at half-time in their Group G clash with North Korea on Monday, but it was far from one-way traffic. The Porto midfielder pounced in the 29th minute after latching onto a beautifully weighted pass from Tiago into the box and drilling the ball under goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk. With Brazil already qualified from the group, Portugal need the victory here to boost their bid to reach the knockout round and they started brightly on a slippery pitch after persistent rain. Cristiano Ronaldo, searching for his first international goal in two years, signalled his intentions by unleashing a long-range left-foot strike on two minutes that goalkeeper Ri did well to collect. Ricardo Carvalho also had an early chance as Portugal set about their task with vigour and the Chelsea defender then rattled the post on seven minutes with a header after Ri completely misjudged a corner kick. The opportunities were coming thick and fast as Portugal used wingers Simao on the right and Ronaldo on the left effectively North Korea finally got a shot at goal on 10 minutes with defender Cha Jong-Hyok whipping a 30 yard piledriver just past the upright. As the rain returned, the Koreans were starting to look handy and far more aggressive than when they lost 2-1 to Brazil, surging forward on the counter- attack to threaten the Portgual goal. The Cholima were certainly not scared to have a go and could have taken a shock lead when captain Hong Yong-Jo's shot was parried by Eduardo, only for Mun In- Guk to head the rebound over the bar. After a decent start, Portugal were struggling to breach a tight Korean defence before the heavily-tattooed Meireles got the crucial breakthrough. 