Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has a lot to smile about while waking up on Thursday morning, not least given that he is now staring his dream of winning a major trophy with his country straight in the face.
A goal and an assist during a 2-0 semi-final victory over Wales were enough to silence the doubters, those who had been disappointed with the Real Madrid star’s contributions over the course of the tournament.
His goal came as the result of a leap which may become iconic in Portuguese sporting history, should Fernando Santos’ side bring home some silverware at the end of the week, before a long-range shot of his was deflected home by Nani to double the Selecao’s advantage.
Despite his performance being anything but vintage, there can be no disputing the fact that Ronaldo has stepped up to the plate when it matters during Euro 2016.
Two goals against Hungary when the heat was on during the Selecao’s final Group F fixture was the first example of Ronaldo’s competitive spirit and insatiable desire for more trophies coming to the fore, with his goal against Wales dragging Santos’ men out of the potential mire once again.
Not only has the winger contributed the most goals and assists at the European Championships since 2004, racking up a cumulative 14, Wednesday night was the historic occasion for the Madeira-born forward to equal Michel Platini’s long-standing goalscoring record in the competition’s history.
In scoring the nine goals required to equal Platini’s tally, Ronaldo also became the first player to score three or more goals in three different editions of the European Championship, as the records continued to tumble on a special night in Lyon.
After making their second European Championship final in their history, the Selecao may well be coaxing back memories of their 2004 heartbreak against Greece, but a more experienced and decorated Cristiano Ronaldo could be the difference-maker required to make Portugal’s footballing history potentially a lot more rosy during the coming weekend.
With a groundbreaking tenth goal in European Championship history to chase, which would see Cristiano Ronaldo’s name etched into history furthermore, it may be rather hard for the Selecao’s next opponents to at least deny the competitive perfectionist a place on the final scoresheet.
Portugal expects, but so does Ronaldo.
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