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Ronaldo fires Portugal past Germany and into Nations League final

Ronaldo fires Portugal past Germany and into Nations League final

Portugal defeated Germany 2-1 in their Nations League semifinal on Wednesday thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s comeback from behind.

Five minutes after substitute Francisco Conceiço equalized with a blistering shot in the 63rd, Ronaldo, 40, captained Portugal and scored his 137th international goal.

Ronaldo’s “curse” against Germany came to an end, making him the oldest player to ever score against the country. The former Real Madrid player lost each of his previous five games against Germany.

Florian Wirtz, a Liverpool target, had given the visiting side a 48th-minute lead with a superb header inside the right post, but Portugal coach Roberto Martnez made his changes count by substituting Conceicao and champions league winner Vitinha.

Just four days after Vitinha helped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) win the Champions League final against Inter Milan on Saturday in the same stadium, Vitinha excelled as Portugal came out on top.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores Portugal’s second goal [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]

Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s best effort was required to keep the visitors from adding more goals.

Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade made his debut for Germany, while PSG wing-backs Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes both started for Portugal.

After passing past Robin Gosens like he was not there, Conceicao only had five minutes to make a brilliant long-range strike inside the far post. Five minutes later, Mendes delivered Ronaldo with a straightforward finish.

Mendes remarked, “There could have been more.”

Germany's Florian Wirtz scores their first goal
Florian Wirtz, Germany’s top scorer [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]

Due to “adverse weather conditions” in Munich, the match was delayed by 10 minutes.

Earlier in the day, UEFA issued a warning to matchgoers about potential thunderstorms in the Bavarian capital ahead of kickoff.

A storm swept through northern Munich about an hour before the originally scheduled kickoff time of 9 p.m., slapping the stadium with rain and leaving the arena covered in hailstones.

When the storm struck, goalkeepers from both sides had already begun their warm-up.

On Thursday, France will play Spain in the other semifinal in Stuttgart.

Portugal's Jose Sa during the warm up as hail stones are seen falling on the pitch before the match
Jose Sa of Portugal reacts to hail on the pitch before the game [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]

Source: Aljazeera

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