Led by their legendary captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal kicked off their UEFA Nations League campaign with a clash against Group 1 rivals Croatia at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Thursday night, September 5. Following a disappointing 2024 European Championship campaign, Ronaldo and his compatriots needed to make a statement of intent against Luka Modric and Co. It was not a straightforward affair, but thanks to Ronaldo’s historic strike, Os Navegadores secured a 2-1 win.
Diogo Dalot Helps and Hurts Portugal Vs Croatia
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez fielded a strong XI for the League A Group 1 meeting with Croatia. Playing in front of their fans, Portugal enjoyed a bright start, getting their noses in front in the seventh minute. The move started on the left, with Nuno Mendes carrying the ball from deep and passing it down the inside-left channel to Bruno Fernandes. Anticipating the build-up, Dalot cut across the field and dashed into the box, allowing Fernandes to dink it through to him. The Manchester United man controlled the delivery with his right foot, took a couple of touches to steady himself, and rolled the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs. Even Ronaldo would have been proud of that finish.
Ronaldo, the icon, doubled Portugal’s tally in the 34th minute, giving them complete control of the game. However, courtesy of Dalot, the home side could not carry the advantage into the second half. In the 41st minute, Croatia attacked the Portuguese box, with as many as four players crashing into the area. Andrej Kramaric drilled the ball across the face of the Portuguese goal, but it had no takers in the middle. The ball found its way to Borna Sosa on the left of the box, who tried the find Mario Pasalic in the middle. Dalot attempted to pull off a cheeky flick to deflect the ball behind for a corner. However, he could not find the right contact and sent it into his own net.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 900 and Climbing
Dalot’s own goal would have received a lot more criticism had it not been for his captain Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal in the 34th minute to give Portugal the cushion it needed to survive the 41st-minute setback.
Ronaldo has scored many sensational goals in his two-decade-long career. His 900th strike was not his best, but it was era-defining, proving that for some people age really is just a number. The 39-year-old lurking inside the box when Mendes delivered the ball from the left flank. As soon as the left-back’s foot touched the skin of the ball, Ronaldo charged toward the goal, beating Josko Gvardiol and Marin Pongracic in a foot race and applying a point-blank finish with his right foot. After extending his legacy, Ronaldo ran toward the corner flag, celebrating, before bowing down and burying his face in his palms.
CRISTIANO RONALDO REACHES 900 CAREER GOALS FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY 🤯🔥
JUST LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS TO HIM ♥️
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) September 5, 2024
After becoming the first man to score 900 career goals, Ronaldo said:
“900 goals seems like any other milestone, but only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal. It’s a unique milestone in my career. I don’t break records they haunt me!”
The Al-Nassr man recently expressed his desire to score 1000 career goals. Given how prolific he still is, only five months away from his 40th birthday, we believe he has a realistic chance of getting there.
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