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Ronaldo leads Portugal past Wales to mark one over Messi
It’s been a whirlwind of a fortnight in the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Despite a lackluster start to Euro 2016, Ronaldo will now have a chance to mark one over Messi after sealing a berth in the final for Portugal. Here’s how their rivalry has been turned upside-down within the space of just fifteen days:
June 21 — Argentina 4-0 USA
Lionel Messi and Argentina delivered a humiliating blow to the United States on American soil with a masterclass victory in the semifinals of the Copa Centenario. As Messi scored a stunning free-kick in Houston and assisted two more goals to book Argentina’s ticket to the Copa Centenario final he seemed destined to finally taste glory on the international stage.
June 22 — Portugal 3-3 Hungary
After two poor draws against Iceland and Austria, Portugal were still looking for their first victory in France heading in their final group stage game of Euro 2016 against Hungary. Although Ronaldo scored his first goal of the tournament with a lovely back-flick, Portugal could barely manage a disappointing 3-3 draw that saw them just nip into the knockout stages as third in Group F.
June 25 — Portugal 1-0 Croatia
Portugal weren’t all that impressive against Croatia in the Round of 16 but Ricardo Quaresma’s last-gasp winner set up a Quarterfinal meeting with Poland and gave Ronaldo & Co. a glimmer of hope that they could make an extended run in the knockout stages.
June 26 — Argentina (2) 0-0 (4) Chile
The stage was set for Lionel Messi to clinch his first taste of international glory at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. Argentina had already beaten Chile in the group stages without Messi and had all the momentum heading into the Copa final. Messi had the opportunity to end Argentina’s twenty-three-year trophy drought at his fingertips; instead, it ended in catastrophic failure for the Barcelona man.
Chile won on penalties after Messi missed his crucial spot-kick in what was Argentina’s third major final defeat in as many years. Just moments after the full-time whistle Messi announced his immediate retirement from international football and his decision was followed by rumors that Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel di Maria, Ever Banega and Lucas Biglia will all leave the international game as well.
June 30 — Portugal (5) 1-1 (3) Poland
Ronaldo erased the memory of a drab, ineffective game against Poland in the Euro 2016 Quarterfinals by emphatically finishing the first penalty in Portugal’s shootout victory. With a semifinal meeting with Wales looming, Fernando Santos’ were increasingly optimistic.
June 6 — Spanish courts 1-0 Messi
Spanish courts found Messi and his father Jorge guilty of three counts of tax fraud on Wednesday morning and sentenced them each to twenty-one months in jail. However, neither are expected to serve time given that prison terms of under (conveniently for Messi) two years can be served under probation for first time offenders in Spain.
Nevertheless, it’s a clear stain on Messi’s pristine reputation. He isn’t the only Barcelona start to come under fire for tax evasion either, with teammates Neymar, Javier Mascherano, and Adriano all having to deal with probes from the Spanish tax authorities recently.
June 6 — Portugal 2-0 Wales
Cristiano Ronaldo was, for a moment, humble and introspective.
Speaking after lifting Portugal to a 2-0 semifinal victory over Wales to seal a spot in the Euro 2016 final, he mused: “I hope that someday you’ll be able to see me cry tears of joy. It’s a dream — I’ve always said that I’ve wanted to win with Portugal and we’re closer now.”
Then he reverted to his usual heightened sense of self, but his brief splash of humility signaled just how much the victory over Wales meant to him. Ronaldo’s brilliance gave Portugal the edge in a tight match, with the Real Madrid star scoring with a towering header shortly after halftime and assisting Nani’s winner just three minutes later.
Portugal will face either Germany or France on Sunday in what will be the second appearance in the final of the European Championships for Ronaldo. Portugal’s last final berth came in 2004, when a teenage Ronaldo was reduced to tears following a shock defeat to Greece on home turf.
That was twelve years ago yet the scars still clearly cut deep for Ronaldo. He has even expressed an unlikely twinge of sympathy for his arch-rival Messi, who is experiencing similar pain with the Argentine national team.
Homepage photo credit: Chris Deahr (Ronaldo vs. FC Schalke 04) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons