So this was how it ended for Cristiano Ronaldo. Not with the ultimate glory but a certain predictability. Portugal’s World Cup was curtailed in a manner that was all too foreseeable: with Ronaldo failing to score, with younger men being removed as he stayed on the pitch, with the sense their most famous player had been put before the team, perhaps for one last time.
His sixth World Cup will be his last, he had said. In a career as long as his, history can repeat itself. Portugal went out 1-0 to Spain in the last 16 in 2010. Sixteen years later, the same scoreline sent Spain into the last eight for the first time since their victorious campaign in South Africa. The dead-eyed finish from Mikel Merino won a local derby that was transported to Texas.
Spain were rewarded for managerial intervention, Portugal punished for a passiveness and the preferential treatment afforded to their captain. Luis de la Fuente made the telling substitutions. Both supplier and scorer, Ferran Torres and Merino, were brought off the bench. In a match featuring many an accomplished passer, much the most incisive ball came from the Barcelona forward. The ****** nal man’s clinical finish seemed to catch Portugal unawares, as though they had expected extra time.
So Roberto Martinez’s reign has concluded, leaving one Spaniard in Houston who should harbour regrets. Portugal were spurred into action by conceding against Croatia. The Spanish goal came far later; the sense of drift that had characterised Portugal before then became costly. Apart from a ferocious Nuno Mendes shot, which deflected off Pedro Porro and on to the bar, Martinez’s Portugal did too little, attempted too little. Their only sense of urgency came when the diminutive Bernardo Silva headed over in the 96th minute and Joao Neves wide in the 99th.
Ronaldo had their twin shots on target but just 19 touches and a minimal impact. He is not alone in failing to breach the Spanish defence. No one else has: they are the solitary team in this World Cup who are yet to concede. Unai Simon has not been beaten in his last 609 minutes on the global stage so chances were always going to be at a premium.
His sixth World Cup will be his last, he had said. In a career as long as his, history can repeat itself. Portugal went out 1-0 to Spain in the last 16 in 2010. Sixteen years later, the same scoreline sent Spain into the last eight for the first time since their victorious campaign in South Africa. The dead-eyed finish from Mikel Merino won a local derby that was transported to Texas.
Spain were rewarded for managerial intervention, Portugal punished for a passiveness and the preferential treatment afforded to their captain. Luis de la Fuente made the telling substitutions. Both supplier and scorer, Ferran Torres and Merino, were brought off the bench. In a match featuring many an accomplished passer, much the most incisive ball came from the Barcelona forward. The ****** nal man’s clinical finish seemed to catch Portugal unawares, as though they had expected extra time.
So Roberto Martinez’s reign has concluded, leaving one Spaniard in Houston who should harbour regrets. Portugal were spurred into action by conceding against Croatia. The Spanish goal came far later; the sense of drift that had characterised Portugal before then became costly. Apart from a ferocious Nuno Mendes shot, which deflected off Pedro Porro and on to the bar, Martinez’s Portugal did too little, attempted too little. Their only sense of urgency came when the diminutive Bernardo Silva headed over in the 96th minute and Joao Neves wide in the 99th.
Ronaldo had their twin shots on target but just 19 touches and a minimal impact. He is not alone in failing to breach the Spanish defence. No one else has: they are the solitary team in this World Cup who are yet to concede. Unai Simon has not been beaten in his last 609 minutes on the global stage so chances were always going to be at a premium.
2 months ago
