Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal and the wait for a first big trophy

Portugal were very close to the final of Euro 2016, having been extremely lucky so far. The Portuguese reached the Round of 16 after three draws in the group stage, qualifying as one of the third-placed teams in their group. Their performances had been far from convincing, and they appeared to have plenty of problems in defence, conceding four goals in the first three games.

Portugal then faced a strong Croatia side in the last 16, in a match considered one of the most boring of the tournament. Ricardo Quaresma scored the only goal of the game after a mistake in Croatia’s defence in the 117th minute.

Fernando Santos’ players were lucky again in the quarter-finals, when they beat Poland on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time. They were now waiting for the winner of Wales against Belgium, who would be their opponent in the semi-finals of the European Championship. In short, Portugal reached the semi-finals after five draws in normal time (one win after extra time and one on penalties). Their next opponent had every reason to fear the remarkable luck of the Portuguese.

Rui Patricio had made some silly mistakes in Portugal’s goal, but he saved the decisive penalty against Poland and helped his team into the semi-finals. Ricardo Carvalho lost his place in the starting eleven after a very poor performance in defence. Nani was playing well, while Cristiano Ronaldo could not show his real potential. The Real Madrid forward missed several clear-cut chances, which was unusual for him. He had scored only two goals in five matches, both against Hungary in the third group game. Ronaldo could have decided the quarter-final against Poland in normal time, but he missed three really good chances. He had not yet shown his true form, and the fans could expect much more from him.

This was one of the last chances for the 31-year-old world-class forward to win a major tournament with his country, which is why the tension Ronaldo was feeling on the pitch was so visible. He had already played in the European Championship final in 2004, when his team lost 0-1 to Greece, and something similar could happen again if Iceland reached the final.
So why had Portugal got so far in the tournament? They were fortunate to finish third in their group, which put them in the weaker half of the draw. Had they finished second, they would have been in Iceland’s place, facing England, France and so on.

The semi-final against Wales

Wales, who had beaten Belgium 3-1 in their quarter-final, were the opponents in Lyon on 6 July 2016. The first half was goalless, but the match turned within minutes of the restart. Cristiano Ronaldo rose to head Portugal in front, and three minutes later Nani diverted a Ronaldo shot past Wayne Hennessey for 2-0. The win took Portugal into the final at the Stade de France.

The final in Saint-Denis

The final against the hosts France on 10 July 2016 started badly for Ronaldo. Dimitri Payet made a strong challenge on him in the opening minutes, and Ronaldo was soon in pain. He left the pitch for treatment, returned with his knee strapped and was finally carried off on a stretcher. Ricardo Quaresma replaced him after 25 minutes. Without their captain, Portugal held firm and took the game into extra time. In the 109th minute the substitute Eder struck a low shot from around 25 yards that beat Hugo Lloris, and Portugal won 1-0. Pepe was named man of the match.

The victory gave Portugal their first major international trophy, twelve years after the home defeat by Greece in the Euro 2004 final. The fears about Iceland never materialised either: France had knocked them out 5-2 in the quarter-final. Ronaldo’s second international title followed on 9 June 2019, when Portugal beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the first UEFA Nations League final in Porto, with Gonçalo Guedes scoring the only goal.