Although they have yet to win a match in regular time in the Euros, Portugal, led by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, eliminated Wales 2-0 in the semi-finals. The Portuguese national team will play a new final match on Sunday, July 10, 12 years after losing at home to Greece.
He scored in the opening score in the 50th minute and in Nani's 2-0 win in the 53rd minute, as CR7 almost single-handedly defeated Wales in the Lyon semi-final. The knockout was simply perfect. He ignored the cold realism that often characterizes him in the Spanish League, his teammate Gareth Bale and his huge supporters at home. Above all, he lit up the semi-final with his dismissal, which was destined to be one of the saddest matches in Euro history.
On Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo will try to erase the horrific defeat to Greece that has haunted his nights since 2004, and why not, become the best scorer in Euro history. Against Wales, he actually equaled Michel Platini's record of nine goals. The Frenchman achieved this in one final tournament in 1984, while the Portuguese scored in… four tournaments.
A shared dream
This time, the Portuguese will not approach this final in the favorites' shoes. It will pit them against the winner of Thursday's match in Marseille between France and Germany. But with an exceptional player in the squad and the defensive mastery he has shown in three matches, the Portuguese can believe in their star. Especially if Cristiano Ronaldo jumps as high as he did while scoring the first goal. With this goal in the 50th minute, the triple Ballon d'Or winner showed that he is indeed the king of the air. When the score was 2-0, he fired a shot that found Nani for an unstoppable deflection.
Rafael Guerrero, who missed the Poland game, was the other big man in the game. He trained at Caen and moved this summer from Lorient to Borussia Dortmund, the left-back arming the two midfielders who scored both goals. Along with jewel Renato Sanchez, the hero of the round of 16 against Poland, Guerrero symbolizes this new generation who share the same dream as their illustrious captain: to finally win a major title.
ats/bolt
