Portugal stormed into the final of the UEFA Nations League by defeating Germany 2-1 at the. Even though Germany had a lead after the first half with a brilliant goal by Florian Wirtz, the second half proved to be a turning point for Cristiano Ronaldo’s team. Francisco Conceicao and Ronaldo scored two goals and goalkeeper Diogo Costa kept his side in the game with spectacular saves and powered their team to clinch a victory.
Portugal will now seek to become the first team to win the UEFA Nations League twice. Notably, they registered their first win in 2019. They will face the winners of the second semifinal between France and Spain in the final is scheduled on June 8. On the other hand, Germany will be eyeing the third position in a match against the losers of the other semifinal.
Portugal’s first goal by Conceicao
Francisco Conceicao who came as a substitute wasted no time making a remarkable impact. The young winger changed the tables for Portugal when he entered the field in the second half. Bruno Fernandes won a free kick, setting up Cristiano Ronaldo for a chance to equalize the scores to 1-1. However, Ronaldo’s effort was in vain.
A few moments later, Conceicao clinched the opportunity as he received the ball on the right flank. He took no time to cut inside and unleashed a curling strike from outside the box. He sailed past Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen into the far left corner. His stunning equalizer shifted the momentum firmly in Portugal’s favour in the 63rd minute of the game.
Ronaldo’s strike seals the lead
Just three minutes later after Portugal scored their first goal, their star player Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the lead for the team. Nuno Mendes set up the game-changing moment. He played a quick one-two with Bruno Fernandes, then raced down the left side, breaking into the penalty area. Instead of taking a shot, Mendes selflessly gave the pass to Cristiano Ronaldo, who then tapped the ball into the net. Ronaldo registered his 137th for Portugal, taking the scoreboard to 2-1.
Wirtz’s stunning goal for Germany
Germany scored a fantastic goal against Portugal in the first half of the match. It all started when Trincao lost the ball, and Florian Wirtz picked it up near the penalty area. Wirtz quickly passed to Joshua Kimmich and made a run into the box. Kimmich sent a perfect pass to Wirtz, finding him in an open space. Wirtz headed the ball past goalkeeper Diogo Costa, scoring a brilliant goal in the 48th minute.
The referee used VAR to check if Wirtz was offside. After a short wait, the goal was confirmed, and Germany’s players celebrated. However, Portugal’s coach, Roberto Martinez, was frustrated and got a yellow card for complaining.
