MUNICH — Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive goal as Portugal came from
behind to defeat Germany 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League semifinal, ending the
hosts' hopes of reaching the tournament final for the first time.
After a 10-minute delay caused by a hailstorm, Germany
settled more quickly. Leon Goretzka tested Diogo Costa early, while debutant
Nick Woltemade linked well with Aleksandar Pavlovic to create another
opportunity.
However, Portugal soon found its rhythm. Pedro Neto's
blistering pace repeatedly exposed the German defense, and Ronaldo tested
goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen twice. It was Ter Stegen's first appearance
since returning from a lengthy injury layoff, Xinhua reports.
Florian Wirtz broke the deadlock just after the restart.
The Bayer Leverkusen playmaker timed his run perfectly to meet Joshua Kimmich's
lofted pass, guiding a header into the bottom corner.
But instead of calming Germany's nerves, the goal only
galvanized Portugal. Francisco Conceicao, introduced just minutes earlier,
turned the match with a stunning solo strike, cutting inside and curling the
ball into the far corner.
Germany barely had time to regroup before falling behind.
A slick one-two between Bruno Fernandes and Nuno Mendes split the German
backline, and Mendes' low cross was converted by Ronaldo. At 40 years and 119
days old, he became the oldest player ever to score against Germany.
Germany brought on attacking reinforcements, including
Karim Adeyemi and Niclas Fullkrug, but struggled to regain momentum. Adeyemi
came closest to equalizing, hitting the post in the 82nd minute. At the other
end, Ter Stegen denied both Conceicao and Diogo Jota to keep the scoreline
close.
Germany will now play in Sunday's third-place playoff,
while Portugal advances to the final.
"It was certainly one of our weakest performances in
recent times. We didn't always attack with enough conviction. We started well
and took a deserved lead but then did far too little. Against a team like
Portugal, if you're too slow in transition, you get punished. We need to be at
100% if we want to belong to the best in Europe. This defeat hurts, but we must
learn from it," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
"I'm very happy. This was an important game against
a top-quality Germany side, and we played away from home. To beat Germany for
the first time in 25 years means a lot. Turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win
shows what this team is capable of," said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez.
