Cristiano seals Portugal's comeback against Germany

Portugal became the first finalist of the fourth edition of the Nations League on Wednesday by coming back against host Germany after Florian Wirtz's goal in a match that grew in intensity and was resolved by the tireless Cristiano Ronaldo in Munich. The Portuguese star, now 40, may lack some spark and is still uncertain about his club future, but his goal-scoring instinct remains sharp. He has now scored 137 goals for his country, eight in seven matches in this competition, which the Portuguese could win for the second time on Sunday.

A new setback for coach Julian Nagelsmann and the entire 'Mannschaft', unable to lift a trophy since their brilliant World Cup victory eleven years ago in Maracanã. Like in the Euros when they fell to Spain, they failed to capitalize on the home advantage. This time, they missed key players like Musiala and the defensive leadership of Rüdiger.

Perhaps the ten-minute delay caused by a thunderstorm in Stuttgart cooled the players, who appeared as if their muscles were stiff or, more likely, were more afraid of making mistakes than eager to take risks to unbalance the game. Portugal started slightly better, creating some concern, especially when Pedro Neto attacked from the left, but only a simple shot from Cristiano, easy for Ter Stegen, stood out.

Although both teams found it difficult to build play and were quite predictable in their attacks, the Germans gradually became more dominant and even had the two clearest chances to score in the first half. However, both Woltemade, Stuttgart's giant striker, and Goretzka, a seasoned midfielder, were thwarted by Diogo Costa, Porto's excellent goalkeeper.

Much more entertaining and dynamic was the semi-final after the break. There was hardly any respite from the start when Germany lost the ball in their half, Nuno Mendes broke through, and Cristiano narrowly missed his pass. Moments later, Wirtz put the hosts ahead in a very controversial play. Trincao lost a silly ball, Leverkusen's star combined in the centre, made a run, and headed in after a brilliant pass from Kimmich. The play was reviewed for a positional offside by Woltemade, but Slovenian Vincic did not change his decision despite the German interfering with Rúben Dias.

That action angered the Portuguese. Roberto Martínez, booked for protesting to the referee, made a triple substitution that worked wonders. Francisco Conceiçao, one of the new players, changed the dynamics and scored a beautiful individual goal to equalize. The Juventus player struck a great left-footed shot, but Ter Stegen was slow to react. Three minutes later, Nuno Mendes repeated the move that started the second half, but this time Cristiano was able to finish with ease. It seemed offside for the former Real Madrid player, but the ball was further ahead. Germany could not recover from those two quick blows, although Adeyemi hit the woodwork, and Portugal will fight for their second crown on Sunday.