Euro 2016: Portugal 2-0 Wales - 5 Talking Points
Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to the plate and made the difference as his goal and an assist helped Portugal beat Wales 2-0 to enter the UEFA Euro 2016 finals, their first international football final since 2004.
The Real Madrid starlet struck a ferocious header early in the second half, before setting up Nani for the second just minutes later, ending the tie as a contest. Wales saw their fairytale run come to an abrupt end after a meek display, but bow out with their heads held high.
Here are some of the major talking points from the game.
1) Cometh the hour, cometh Ronaldo
Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo has had a mixed bag of Euro 2016 thus far, failing to have much of an impact and impressing only occasionally. However, the 31-year old stepped up against Wales, scoring and assisting a goal each to captain his side to the finals of the competition.
Ronaldo opened the scoring with a trademark header early in the 50th minute when he leapt the highest (more than 2 metres!) to meet Rafael Guerrero's pinpoint cross, before making another attempt at goal that was diverted into the net by Nani to make it 2-0 in Portugal’s favour.
The Portuguese No.7 had come under criticism for not showing up in the competition but shushed his naysayers with a man of the match performance against Wales. Now he has another shot at glory with his national team, having had to endure the heartbreak of a shock loss to Greece back in 2004.
Germany/France are the only ones standing in his way now.