05.06.2019 » Portugal 3-1 Switzerland. Ronaldo hat-trick on the way to the final
It was a big game for both Portugal and Switzerland, as the two teams were hoping to reach their first UEFA Nations League final and they were only one game away from achieving that. Overall speaking, the Swiss played better than the Portuguese team, which somehow resulted into having more possession and more shooting attempts. Nevertheless, there was one man on the Portuguese side who could turn things around in the blink of an eye and that's precisely what happened in tonight's 3-1 win. Well, not exactly that quick, but he did make sure he would grab all the headlines by scoring a hat-trick. Portugal will now wait for the outcome of this Thursday's semi-final between England and Netherlands in order to know who they'll be playing against in the final, scheduled for next Sunday evening.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Portugal vs Switzerland
Portugal 3-1 Switzerland - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Switzerland:
The swiss dominance wasn't enough to handle Ronaldo...
In the days prior to tonight's match, there was a lot of expectation towards the starting lineup Portugal was going to present. Fernando Santos only revealed his choices a couple hours before the kickoff, but once the fans confirmed that João Félix was going to start upfront, next to Cristiano Ronaldo, the excitement was palpable. The 19-year old has been linked with a move to Manchester United and Manchester City since the end of the season, with a price tag that could go up to 120 million euros. That's more than what Manchester United paid for Ronaldo in 2009 (96 million euros) and more than what Juventus paid in 2018 (100 million euros)...
Unfortunately for those who were hoping to see a great performance from the youngster in his debut for Portugal, that simply didn't happen. In his defense, the still-Benfica player ended up being left a bit isolated upfront and most of the balls thrown to him were either clearances or high balls.
Despite Switzerland's dominance in most periods of tonight's game, Portugal showed off their stability and security at the back, never allowing the Swiss to create many great goalscoring chances. It's true Seferovic still saw one his shots hitting the crossbar and that Rui Patrício still had some work blocking a couple of shots here and there, but one way or another, the impression was that things always looked safe for the European champions...
Gaining Momentum from both teams
Portugal scored the opener deep inside the first-half, when a free-kick earned near the Swiss box by Cristiano Ronaldo, allowed the Juventus star to score his first free-kick goal of the season (he hadn't scored any in Italy the whole season). The 34-year old forward somehow tricked the Swiss goalkeeper and saw his shot heading to the far post while Sommer looked paralyzed on the line between posts. 1-0 for Portugal and certainly a sense of injustice for Switzerland...
The second half was a bit more even in terms of possession, even though the Swiss still looked superior until the last 10 minutes of the game. The equaliser arrived in the 57th minute, but not without controversy. A Swiss player fell inside the Portuguese box following a long ball sent by Shaqiri, but the referee didn't call for a penalty and the play continued. A few instants later, Bernardo Silva got tripped inside the Swiss box and the referee didn't hesitate to point to the spot. That's when VAR intervened and advised the referee to review the whole play. He would then decide to cancel Portugal's penalty and award it the Swiss, which ended up with Ricardo Rodríguez converting the chance and sending things back to square one.
It was a sort of a punch in the stomach for the Portuguese players, but the team managed to react well and showed the Swiss why they are the reigning European champions. In the 88th minute, a good play on the right from Bernardo Silva ended up with the Man City's midfielder assisting Ronaldo inside the box and the former Real Madrid superstar finished it off with a first-touch strike to put his nation on the driving seat once more...
The cherry on the top of the cake happened just a couple minutes later, this time in a pure counter-attack play led by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese legend took on a defender with a couple stepovers in the process, just before he locked his aim at the far post and beat Sommer for the third time on the night. Hat-trick for Ronaldo and a big final for Portugal on the way!
Portugal line-up vs Switzerland:
Goalkeeper: Rui Patrício
Defenders: Raphael Guerreiro, Rúben Dias, Pepe, Nélson Semedo
Midfielders: Rúben Neves, William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva
Attackers: João Félix, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
|---|---|---|
Portugal
|
vs
|
Switzerland
|
3 |
Goals |
1 |
10 |
Shots |
16 |
3 |
Shots on goal |
3 |
5 |
Corner kicks |
5 |
11 |
Fouls commited |
13 |
0 |
Yellow cards |
3 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
45% |
Ball possession |
55% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Portugal is for the UEFA Nations League on June 9 of 2019, against either England or Netherlands. You can watch Portugal vs England or Netherlands, USA vs Jamaica, Faroe Islands vs Spain, Netherlands vs England, Brazil vs Qatar, and Belarus vs Germany, all matches provided from our footy live game pages.
Portugal next game:
Portugal vs England or Netherlands kick-off time (09-06-2019):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 02:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 01:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:15
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 11:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / beinsports.com / skysports.com / squawka.com
