In the Champions League final, Cristiano Ronaldo broke his bad reputation against the Germans by winning 2-1 over Germany on Wednesday in Munich.
Ronaldo’s 138th international goal in the 68th minute sealed his longest winning streak against any nation since winning. It was his longest ever goal in opposition to any nation without a victory.
Three minutes after halftime, Florian Wirtz, who had a stuttering opening half, started and cleverly advanced through the middle before heading in the opener.
With only 45 minutes left, Portugal’s Francisco Conceicao ran 35 meters to score a brilliant solo goal that levelled things up.
Ronaldo, who had missed two excellent chances, was given the final chance to turn in a Nuno Mendes pass from close range.
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In the same location, Portugal, the reigning champion of the Nations League, will square off against either France or Spain in the final on Sunday.
Germany, which had only lost one of their previous 17 games, suffers from the loss.
Portugal’s four players were already in the lead when the celebrations and Saturday’s Champions League final came to an end, but Germany was the first to struggle to find rhythm.
Due to a violent storm that caused hailstones to strewn across the turf, the game arrived 10 minutes late.
While Portugal’s pressing Jonathan Tah almost paid off, the defender was insecure in possession, despite Aleksandar Pavlovic’s misplaced passes and several mislaid passes.
Ronaldo almost scored the opening goal six minutes into his first game for Germany since September 2024, but his old La Liga sparring partner Marc-Andre ter Stegen claimed it with his shot. He was greeted by Portuguese cheers and German boos every time he approached the ball.
Wirtz opener,  
With 18 minutes left, debutant Nick Woltemade had Germany’s best chance in the opening half, but Diogo Costa’s low shot, which was a 1.9-meter-tall striker, was well saved.
When Portugal broke right after halftime, Ronaldo was just inches away from opening the scoring with a clever Nuno Mendes cross that beckoned into the net.
The miss was punished by Germany in less than a minute. Before being laid off for Joshua Kimmich, Wirtz tiptoed down the left to catch three defenders.
The German captain chipped it past the Portugal defense before turning to Wirtz, who skillfully drilled a low header into the bottom right corner.
On the 60-minute mark, Roberto Martinez made three changes, but the difference was in the substitutions’ timing.
Conceicao dropped Robin Gosens with a shimmy close to the half-way line five minutes later before launching a superb curling shot past Ter Stegen in the last seconds.
Ronaldo then scored Portugal’s first goal in his 219th international, cue Ronaldo for his nerveless tap in of a Nuno Mendes pass to make up for his previous errors.
With eight minutes left, Munich-born Karim Adeyemi hit the crossbar, but Germany could not find an equalizer and will need to be content with a third-placed match on Sunday in Stuttgart.
