Portugal thrashed out a 2-0 victory, to make the Euro 2016 final, as Wales’ fairy tale ends.
Ah, Wales, it’s been glorious. As totally unexpected fairy tale runs go, yours has been one of the most impressive. But, when it comes to destiny, this Portugal team appears to have everyone else outmatched. Their loss to Greece in the final of Euro 2004 – although not experienced personally by many of these Portuguese players – has seeped into the very fabric of those red and green shirts, like a toxic stain that must be rubbed out. Only an exorcism, in the form of another opportunity to win the title, can do this, and no Welsh Cinderella story was going to stop them.
Ronaldo was hugely pivotal, scoring and threatening without being overly involved. The Wales players applauded their fans at the end, and the magnitude of their achievements will be remembered, teary-eyed and with puffed-out chests, for a long time
Portugal prudent with their pressing
None of the Portuguese seemed interested at all in pressing over the halfway line, and rather than pressure the newest defensive member of the Welsh starting XI, James Collins, they decided to take advantage of Aaron Ramsey’s absence and make things specifically harder for the other Welsh midfielders as soon as the passes came into them.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Leicester’s Andy King – fresh from a title-winning campaign – is a fine player but he doesn’t quite have the spacial manoeuvrability of Ramsey. The Arsenal man was a hugely telling absence, and with King keen to make forward central runs – twice getting on the end of Gareth Bale crosses – it made passing through midfield difficult for Wales.
Ronaldo as an aerial threat eventually proves good enough
For much of the first half, Cristiano attempted to contest headers with Wales’ James Collins. Collins is a man of impressive stature, and no little amount of nous when it comes to judging the flight of the ball, or the subtle levering involved in winning headers. It appeared as though persisting with this strategy, of taking advantage of Ronaldo’s ability in the air, was a poor one.
Until, at the beginning of the second half, the strategy paid off. A simple short corner, immediately whipped in, was met magisterially by Ronaldo in the middle of a crowded penalty area. He does possess a mighty leap, that hangs in the air at its supreme peak, and his bullet header was unsaveable. In the confusion of the pre-corner preparations, Ronaldo had escaped Collins. Now his aerial threat was good enough, and it fired Portugal into the lead.
Wales finally feel the pressure
Wales have an able squad, and a superstar talisman, but they have played most of this tournament blissfully unaware of the pressure, as it ratcheted up. Even going down a goal to a heavily favoured Belgian side in the quarter final didn’t seem to phase them, as they stormed back to win 3-1.
But here, met as they were by a relentlessly pointed Portugal so unblinkingly focused on making the final their eyes were practically bloodshot, Wales finally looked aware of their surroundings. Having been stung twice in quick succession, by Ronaldo’s superb header and Nani’s fortunate redirection, their passes were loose and bedraggled. Portugal should have killed the game off when Bale was caught dribbling out of defence, but João Mário could not shoot past Wayne Hennessey. Their key absentees, the occasion… it all finally added up, and the weight was too much to bear for Wales.
As far as ‘Ronaldo vs Bale’ goes, Ronaldo’s decisiveness still has the edge
The ‘Ronaldo vs Bale’ narrative is a pertinent one, though one that was never going to be fully settled by this single contest. Bale is the more varied player, the better athlete, probably the better free-kick taker. But Ronaldo, as deliberately limited as he has made himself, is still a ravenous goal-scorer; everything about him has been purposefully refined with goals in mind, and the leap he produced to score the opening goal is just one of his assets.
He didn’t necessarily play better than Bale in this match, but his goal meant he was infinitely more decisive. Ronaldo’s constant shooting, his habit of peeling off at the far post, his goal-lingering; it all adds up to goals. Bale might be the better player, one could argue, but if you want someone to build an attack around – one that scores goals, as all attacks intend to – Ronaldo is still the ultimate choice.
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