Ronaldo brace helps Portugal knock out Netherlands

Cristiano Ronaldo’s double ensured Portugal’s passage into the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 after they came from one goal down to end Netherland’s run in the tournament. The Dutch needed a two-goal victory and Germany to win against Denmark to have any chance of qualifying. They took an early lead from Rafael Van der Vaart’s long-range strike, but Ronaldo scored two neat finishes to send Portugal to the last eight. The Germans are also through to the last eight after winning 2-1 against Denmark after Lukas Podolski and Lars Bender scored for the Group B toppers. [caption id=“attachment_346972” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Ronaldo wheels away in celebration after scoring the winning goal. AFP”] [/caption] It was a much needed performance from Ronaldo, especially after the Portugal skipper’s miserable performance in their last game against Denmark. Netherlands dominated early proceedings, with Van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder working the ball in midfield, but it was the former who collected a Robben pass before curling a beautiful shot past Rui Patricio from 25 yards out. Ronaldo was knocking on the door immediately, already hitting the post before eventually scoring. Joao Pereira picked out his brilliantly timed pass and the Real Madrid ace made no mistakes in restoring parity from a one-on-one situation. It may have taken him 10 shots in this tournament to get his first goal, but once he was off the mark, all Portugal had to do was pass the ball to him. The second half saw Portugal dominate despite playing on the counter. Ronaldo’s close range header was well saved by Marten Stekelenberg but a quick breakaway saw Nani play his captain on the far post. What followed was easy– Ronaldo cut in on his right foot and finished with ease to land a knockout punch to Netherlands. He could have easily had a hat-trick but his late long-range attempt struck the post again to deny him. For ‘The Oranje’, a nightmare tournament just got worse. They have lost all three matches and end the tournament with zero points. In the quarter-finals, Portugal will face Czech Republic and Germany will face Greece.