Dhe encounter in the Budapest arena was just over and the first clean-up work in the catacombs began. As the man of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo had just taken his seat at the press conference when something caught his eye that he clearly disliked. With one movement he moved two bottles from a soft drink manufacturer to one side, then demonstratively held up a bottle of water.
“Agua,” he said, as if he wanted to place a commercial himself. As for the soft drink manufacturer, the fitness fanatic raised his eyebrows in disapproval. Because the share price of the beverage giant then collapsed, problems could arise for Ronaldo, who is one of the most influential sponsors of the European association UEFA.
But Ronaldo is above it all anyway. The captain scored two goals in Portugal’s 3-0 win against Hungary, ten and eleven at European championships. He is now the sole record holder. “We scored three goals and I’m very grateful to the team for helping me score two goals,” said Ronaldo. There were times when it would have been harder for him to say words, but at the age of 36 Ronaldo became an elder statesman in football boots.
The group around him is full of potential, Portugal has developed in football. The dependence on the record striker in the past is no longer there, even if Ronaldo’s two goals at first glance suggest otherwise. Against the Hungarians, the defending champion was cleared up in the sold-out stadium in Budapest, Portugal determined the action from the first minute and missed several high-quality goal opportunities in the first half.
“If we had scored, Hungary would have fallen apart,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. Unlike the Spaniards the day before, Portugal found the right solutions against an extremely defensive opponent, albeit with a little luck. Raphael Guerreiro’s late opening goal fell because the Dortmunder’s shot was deflected unsustainable for goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
“We were in possession of the ball for most of the game and with patience we scored the goals,” said Guerreiro. The winger was one of the discoveries when he won the title in 2016. At that time he was still considered a talent, in the meantime he has established himself as one of the defining figures.
“Great respect” for Germany
In the past, the problem with defending champions was often that they had reached their zenith when they won the tournament. Then a cycle came to an end. Either the subsequent rebuilding turned out to be difficult or the right moment for a change was missed. See Spain 2014 or Germany 2018. It is different with Portugal. There were still five players in the starting line-up against Hungary, who also started in the final against France five years ago.
But they are now joined by highly talented people who are just about to reach their athletic climax. Ruben Dias, Diogo Jota, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes are all between 24 and 26 years old. They didn’t play an important role at the tournament in France, that has changed. By winning the first Nations League, Portugal solidified the impression of having a new golden generation together.
With a win against Germany on Saturday, the Portuguese could qualify for the round of 16. Portugal’s coach doesn’t want to look that far ahead. “Germany is a very difficult opponent, great players, a great coach. There are two teams with great skills. Nobody is afraid of the other. But there is great respect, ”says Santos. At the last European Championship, his team did not succeed in the preliminary round at all. Judging by this, the Portuguese are already better than their European championship team.
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