Ronaldo tears & Yamal’s nemesis – has Nations League saved Martinez?
When Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal won their third Nations League trophy, he broke down in tears.
And what a way to achieve it—they defeated Spain, their oldest enemies and neighbours, on penalties.
Ronaldo had already performed his role, even though he was taken off the pitch in the 88th minute.
In the 61st minute, the Portugal captain scored a close-range goal to make it 2-2. He set a new record with that, his 138th goal for his country.
Additionally, it was his seventh in nine Nations League appearances this season, trailing just Viktor Gyokeres of Sweden.
Not bad for a 40-year-old who has played for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Arabian division for the last two and a half years.
After winning the Nations League in 2023 and Euro 2024, it is the first time Spain has not lifted a trophy since the 2022 World Cup.
They seemed invincible at moments throughout this event, namely when they defeated France 5–4 in the semifinals. But that’s exactly what Ronaldo and Portugal did.
Nuno Mendes as well, as the Portugal full-back both scored a goal and silenced Spain’s top player, Lamine Yamal.
“Winning for Portugal is always special,” Ronaldo remarked. Nothing compares to winning for Portugal, even though I have won numerous trophies with clubs.
“It’s tears. It’s a great deal of delight and obligation fulfilled.”
Ronaldo prevails in the Yamal fight.
“That’s not how it works when you speak about Cristiano and someone else clashing. Although it’s one team against another, the media constantly tries to exaggerate events, which is unusual.
In the lead-up to this match, Ronaldo said these things, and many people talked about the 40-year-old against the 17-year-old Spain star Yamal.
Ronaldo scored the 938th goal of his career by hooking in Mendes’ deflected cross from close range, making him the winner in many ways.
On ITV, former England midfielder Andros Townsend stated: “This is the reason Cristiano Ronaldo is playing football.
“In the box, he is a predator. He is aware of the ball’s trajectory. When it comes to him, good contact.
“He has repeatedly been written off by people, yet tonight he fulfilled his role. In the semi-final, he more than fulfilled his role. He has demonstrated that he is still capable of having a significant impact.
Karen Carney, an ITV commentator, went on: “Ronaldo’s eyes glowed. ‘Who else? Me.
“Everyone calls you ancient in football when you are thirty. This 40-year-old man consistently disobeys us.
Although he only made 22 touches to the ball, he tracked back multiple times, including to win it away from Yamal.
The winger for Spain, who scored twice in the victory against France in the semi-final, did not have a particularly good game.
Diogo Costa had to make two stops on his four shots, the majority of which came from a distance.
“Yamal will find out this evening. He had no identity at all. “He will need to come up with ways to accomplish this,” Guillem Balague, a Spanish football journalist, stated.
