Ronaldo’s Decisive Goal Seals Portugal’s 2-1 Comeback Win Over Germany To Reach Nations League Finals

Ronaldo pushes a comeback scoring the decisive goal. Wirtz broke the deadlock early, but Neto's pace exposed German defence. "Beating Germany, 1st time in 25 years means a lot", says Portugal coach.

Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo on his way to a record 1000 career goals.

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive goal as Portugal came from behind to defeat Germany 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League semifinal, ending the hosts' hopes of reaching the tournament final for the first time.

After a 10-minute delay caused by a hailstorm, Germany settled more quickly. Leon Goretzka tested Diogo Costa early, while debutant Nick Woltemade linked well with Aleksandar Pavlovic to create another opportunity.

However, Portugal soon found its rhythm. Pedro Neto's blistering pace repeatedly exposed the German defense, and Ronaldo tested goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen twice. It was Ter Stegen's first appearance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff, Xinhua reports.

Florian Wirtz broke the deadlock just after the restart. The Bayer Leverkusen playmaker timed his run perfectly to meet Joshua Kimmich's lofted pass, guiding a header into the bottom corner.

But instead of calming Germany's nerves, the goal only galvanized Portugal. Francisco Conceicao, introduced just minutes earlier, turned the match with a stunning solo strike, cutting inside and curling the ball into the far corner.

Germany barely had time to regroup before falling behind. A slick one-two between Bruno Fernandes and Nuno Mendes split the German backline, and Mendes' low cross was converted by Ronaldo. At 40 years and 119 days old, he became the oldest player ever to score against Germany.

Germany brought on attacking reinforcements, including Karim Adeyemi and Niclas Fullkrug, but struggled to regain momentum. Adeyemi came closest to equalizing, hitting the post in the 82nd minute. At the other end, Ter Stegen denied both Conceicao and Diogo Jota to keep the scoreline close.

Germany will now play in Sunday's third-place playoff, while Portugal advances to the final.

"It was certainly one of our weakest performances in recent times. We didn't always attack with enough conviction. We started well and took a deserved lead but then did far too little. Against a team like Portugal, if you're too slow in transition, you get punished. We need to be at 100% if we want to belong to the best in Europe. This defeat hurts, but we must learn from it," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said.

"I'm very happy. This was an important game against a top-quality Germany side, and we played away from home. To beat Germany for the first time in 25 years means a lot. Turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win shows what this team is capable of," said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez.

 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)