Euro 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo proves doubters wrong as things fall in place for Portugal

A cloud of turmoil hung over Cristiano Ronaldo heading into Portugal’s final group clash against Hungary. The striker hadn’t found the net in 20 attempts over two matches; had belittled Iceland players with his “small mentality” comments, and to top it all, had thrown a mighty tantrum by literally throwing a journalist’s microphone into a lake. Portuguese media had noted that he looked despondent in training this week, while English pundits had already penned longform pieces on his demise. Ronaldo, in turn, proved them all wrong. With a sublime assist and two goals, the captain once again rescued his team with a 3-3 draw. In a must-win match – one that Coach Fernando Santos referred to as a ‘final’ – the No 7 showed why he is one of the greatest players to have embraced this sport. His travails in the first two games further fuelled his desire to shine, and he finally made his mark, becoming first player ever to score in four European Championship finals in a row. With Wednesday’s brace, he now has eight goals at the Euros, one behind Michel Platini, who scored nine for France. Coincidentally, in the Hungary match, Ronado also set a new record of 17 finals appearances in this competition. [caption id=“attachment_2851222” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring against Hungary. AP[/caption] However, the opening period of the match told a different story. Portugal started strong but Ronaldo was soon reduced to a frustrated figure, racking up more ineffective free-kicks that barely troubled Gábor Király in goal. Just before the 20-minute mark, the wind was knocked out of Portugal’s sails, thanks to Zoltán Gera’s low-footed half-volley drilled into the bottom-right corner. The Selecção were left shell-shocked and their 4-4-2 diamond midfield – with only William Carvalho providing protection ahead of the back four – was completely exposed. It was only before half-time in the 42nd minute that Ronaldo stepped up with a perfect through ball that cut four defenders to set up Luis Nani for a sublime finish past Király at the near post. It took the Real Madrid star 222 minutes to be involved in a goal at Euro 2016, but he saved his best for the second half. Portugal were once again put on the back foot after the restart as Hungary’s No 7 Balász Dzsudzsák’s free-kick was deflected for a goal. The lead only lasted for three minutes as Ronaldo struck back in style, with an improvised back-heeled flick off João Mário’s right-wing cross. The goal was audacious and nonchalant at the same time, and only a player of Ronaldo’s caliber could have pulled it off. At 2-2, Portugal could have been forgiven for assuming they had passage to the knockout stage all wrapped up. But as luck would have it, Dzsudzsák scored again in a similar fashion, with another deflected free-kick. He almost seemed to be taunting his opposite No 7. But Ronaldo’s ability to curl the ball from set-pieces may have dwindled, (he has zero goals from 40 free-kick attempts at major international tournaments now, if you’re keeping count), his superhuman ability of leaping for headers is still intact. Seven minutes after Hungary’s third, Ronlado jumped into the air to nod home Ricardo Quaresma’s inswinging cross. It was Ronaldo’s 15th headed goal for his country, making for 25 percent of his total goals. Three times in the game, Portugal were out of the European championship; three times their leading man found a way to drag them back. Ronaldo took the match by the scruff of the neck and got his side through, albeit by the skin of their teeth. 90 minutes of breathless, entertaining football – the exact kind that this tournament was missing – and Portugal qualified as the third-placed team in Group F. Hungary progressed as surprise winners while Iceland’s late 2-1 victory saw them finish second. While the third-place position puts Portugal in the relatively easier top half of the bracket, their next opponents are the formidable Croats. Croatia are riding a wave of confidence into the Round-of-16, having stunned Spain in their last group match. Had Portugal eked out a victory, they would have faced off against the inconsistent English side. Croatia have been fluid and dominant and will pose a much tougher challenge for Portugal. Against Hungary, Portugal’s usually-solid defence looked rickety and nervous. They were exposed on three occasions by a swift and direct attack. Their midfield lacked form and will be easily run over by the attacking trio of Ivan Perišić, Ivan Rakitić and Luka Modrić. With Raphaël Guerreiro out due to injury, Santos may need to switch back to the 4-4-3 to reinforce the fragile defence. A stickler for discipline at the back, the Portuguese manager was slightly disheartened by the team’s performance. “We wanted to finish in first place – that’s what we had in mind, to move on. But not like this. After the first two matches, I said the team was playing well but couldn’t score. Today was the opposite. We managed to attack and managed to score, and had other chances. In terms of defence, we weren"t as tight,” he said after the match. While Santos still has plenty of headaches to sort out if they want to make a deeper run, some of the pieces of the puzzle seem to be fitting together. Ronaldo’s inspiring performance, combined with Nani’s confidence-boosting goals has given the Selecção hope before the knockouts. Nani has shown that he could shoulder some of the pressure that otherwise rests on their captain. Quarema’s cameos have helped raise the tempo and André Gomes has been impressive in every match. The coaching staff and team management have the coming two days to iron out their flaws and settle on their ideal XI. For now, they can sit back and enjoy. Portugal are still alive in this tournament and their talisman has finally arrived.