Ronaldo delight as Guedes seals Nations League win for Euro holders Portugal against Holland
VIRGIL VAN DIJK got his hands on Big Ears in Madrid, picked up the PFA players' player gong and should land the Ballon d’Or later this year.
So the Liverpool defender’s world hardly fell apart by failing to win the Uefa Nations League.
Virgil van Dijk actually went 65 successive matches without a player dribbling past him and was more than a match for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Yet it was 34-year-old Ronaldo who lifted the new 7.5kg, 71cm high trophy.
The Juventus superstar will certainly not be wining the Ballon d’Or for a sixth time while he did not even try and get past Van Dijk – but it was yet another accolade.
Instead, it was left for Goncalo Guedes to settle the inaugural final with a 60th minute strike which will also land Portugal £9.3million in prize money.
While many people would not consider themselves the best team on the continent, Portugal won Euro 2016 and have now been the first winners of a 55-team tournament.
And they edged a reasonably entertaining match – which was trending as #PORNED on twitter – while it was also VAR-free.
The atmosphere, however, was a bit surreal.
This was because at times, the noisiest supporters were fans actually from a country who were not even involved in the final but instead, had been playing up the road in Guimaraes a few hours earlier.
GUEDES EXPECTATIONS
England’s fans, and there were thousands inside the Estadio do Dragao, continually treated both sets other bewildered supporters to their full repertoire of songs, including the national anthem and the one about the size of Harry Maguire’s head.
Portugal played a different system to the 3-1 win over Switzerland. Ronaldo was in a more central role and Joao Felix, the world’s most sought after teenager, had to settle for a place on the substitute’s bench after an underwhelming debut in the semi-finals.
This meant Ronaldo was never too far away from Van Dijk, booed with each touch as there was thousands of England fans making themselves heard.
There were a couple of times in the first half when Ronaldo received the ball, saw van Dijk blocking the his path so decided to pass to someone.
Holland started the game with lots of possession but without really threatening and Portugal looked more dangerous.
Bruno Fernandes, a 24-year-old midfielder for Sporting Lisbon, was particularly impressive and Portugal looked the more dangerous.
PORT OF CALL
Ronaldo had a couple of chances on goal along with Bernardo Silva and they certainly finished the first half the better team.
The second period started with a rendition of God Save The Queen courtesy of England’s fans and the match was certainly a bit livelier.
Both teams played with more freedom and a goal did seem inevitable.
On the hour, Portugal took the lead and finally, the home fans found their voices.
It was a decent counter-attack with Silva deciding to avoid attempting to get past Van Dijk but took him out of play by squaring for Valencia winger Guedes.
His first-time strike from the edge of the area was decent enough but it should probably have been saved by Cillesen.
Memphis Depay wasted Holland’s best chance with a header straight at Wolves keeper Rui Patrcio.
In the end, Portugal, despite a few scares held firm and were able to win this slightly curious but ultimately successful competition.
And in two years ago, we will be somewhere else for another final. And although he will be 36, do not be surprised if Ronaldo is still going.
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Equally, this has been a hugely encouraging 12 months for Dutch football when you consider they were not even at the World Cup.
But Ajax – and now the national team – has restored an enormous amount of pride and belief among the country’s football fans.
While their front three is not the greatest, Holland have van Dijk in defence and with him there, anything is possible.
