By AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo scored again as Portugal came from behind to beat Germany 2-1 in their Nations League semifinal on Wednesday.
The 40-year-old Ronaldo captained Portugal and scored his 137th international goal five minutes after substitute Francisco Conceição equalised with a blistering shot in the 63rd.
Ronaldo became the oldest player to ever score against Germany while ending his “curse” against the country. The former Real Madrid star lost each of the previous five games he played against Germany.
Liverpool target Florian Wirtz had given the home team a 48th-minute lead with a perfectly placed header inside the right post, but Portugal coach Roberto Martínez made his changes count as he brought on Conceicao and Champions League winner Vitinha among the substitutes.
Vitinha excelled as Portugal finished the game in the ascendancy just four days after he helped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) win the Champions League final against Inter Milan in the same stadium on Saturday.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo scores their second goal
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo scores their second goal [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]
Germany needed goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his best to prevent the visitors from scoring any more.
PSG wing-backs Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes both started for Portugal, while Stuttgart forward Nick Woltemade started for his Germany debut.
Conceicao only needed five minutes to make a mark with a brilliant long-range strike inside the far post after he surged past Robin Gosens like he was not there. Mendes gave Ronaldo a simple finish five minutes after that.
“It could have been more,” Mendes said.
Germany’s Florian Wirtz scores their first goal [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]
The match was delayed by 10 minutes due to “adverse weather conditions” in Munich.
Earlier in the day, UEFA warned matchgoers of possible thunderstorms in the Bavarian capital forecast for kickoff time.
About an hour before the originally scheduled kickoff time of 9pm, a storm swept across northern Munich, lashing the stadium with rain and leaving the arena grass carpeted in hailstones.
Goalkepers from both sides had begun their warm-up when the storm hit.
France plays Spain in Stuttgart on Thursday in the other semifinal.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
