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| Photo=Capture the relay screen |
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| Portugal's forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal's defender #05 Diogo Dalot |
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As soon as Portugal's fifth kicker Hoobeng Neves' shot was sucked into the net, the broadcast camera turned to Cristiano Ronaldo (Alnasr) on the bench. The unsuspecting superstar, who was burying his face without even looking at his colleagues' penalty shootout, fell to the ground and shed tears.
Ronaldo's Portugal beat Spain and stood tall at the top of the European Nations League. Portugal won the 2024-2025 European Nations League final at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on the 9th (Korea time) by winning the penalty shootout 5-3 after drawing 2-2 with Spain after an extended blood fight. He stopped Spain's second consecutive victory in the tournament and achieved his dream of winning the championship six years after the first tournament in 2019. The fighting spirit that did not know how to give up shone. Spain's Martin Subimendi (Real Sociedad) scored the first goal in the 21st minute of the first half, but Nunu Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain) scored a left-footed equalizer in the 26th minute of the first half, bringing the game to square one. In the 45th minute of the first half, Spain's Mikel Oyarsabal (Real Sociedad) shook the net and led 2-1 again, but Portugal had Ronaldo. Ronaldo, who was on the ground with the record of 221 A matches in history, showed his presence in the 16th minute of the second half. After cutting the net with his right foot, he roared hot. His 138th goal in the A-match series. It was his eighth goal of the tournament. Ronaldo was replaced in the 43rd minute of the second half complaining of pain, but Ronaldo's team held out strongly. The penalty shootout, which began after extra blood, all five kickers shook the net. Spain's `fourth kicker" Alvaro Morata (Galatasaray) bowed his head after being blocked by `Portugal gatekeeper" Diogo Costa.
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| Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Roberto Martinez |
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When asked about the meaning of tears after winning the championship, Ronaldo explained that "tears meant a lot of joy and that I did my duty." "It's always special to win for Portugal. Winning a lot of titles at the club, but nothing better than winning for Portugal" gave an overwhelming impression. Ronaldo also confessed that he forced his participation with injuries. "I already felt pain during warm-up, but if I had to break my leg for the national team, I would have done so. I had to play for the trophy and put all of my energy into it."
Ahead of the final match, the media and fans paid attention to the match between 40-year-old Ronaldo, 18-year-old Ramin Yamal of Barcelona, and the old superstar. When Ronaldo, born in 1985, made his debut for the Portuguese national team 21 years ago, Yamal, born in 2007, was not even born. The first showdown between the world's top striker was a mastermind. Ronaldo, who led the way to the finals by pushing a come-from-behind goal in the semifinals (2-1 wins) against Germany, showed a pressure defense to steal the ball from Yamal, and proved his presence with a one-shot one-kill equalizer in just one chance. On the other hand, Yamal, who scored multiple goals in the semifinal (5-4 wins) against France, was erased by Nunu Mendes, "Portugal fullback", and his ambitious shot was blocked by Diogo Costa's good defense. ITV commentator Karen Carney left a word 'Kon Chul Murder'. "Ronaldo's eyes..."Who else but me?It flashed like ' In soccer, everyone says they're old when they turn 30, but this guy keeps surprising us even though he's 40 years old."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
