Portugal, Spain tie on Ronaldo’s 3rd goal
All Spain’s fans could do, after it was over, was applaud. There was no sense wallowing in disappointment, worrying about what it all might mean. Spain saw a victory snatched away in the final minutes, denied a cathartic moment by its neighbor, and yet there was no bitterness, no sorrow: only admiration, and awe. Sometimes, it is not the winning, but the taking part.
Topping what occurred Friday between Spain and Portugal in a 3-3 tie in Adler, Russia, will be no simple task. Twice, Portugal led. Twice, Spain recovered, before Nacho Fernández scored the sort of goal that is supposed to be beyond the skill of a stand-in right back. The goal gave Spain the lead for the first time in the match and put Fernando Hierro, the Spanish coach, on course for an immense victory only one game, and two days, into his job. And then Cristiano Ronaldo, yet again, intervened.
“We played a favorite for the World Cup,” Ronaldo said afterward. “We are not the favorites, but we’re candidates.”
If Spain’s preparations for this game have been troubled — firing its previous coach, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is fired up after his first goal, scored four minutes into Friday’s match against Spain in Sochi, Russia. He scored all of Portugal’s goals in the 3-3 tie. Julen Lopetegui, on the eve of the tournament for failing to disclose that he was about to take charge at Real Madrid — then Portugal’s have scarcely been better.
Several members of the team, which won the European championship in 2016, are on the verge of rescinding their club contracts, at Lisbon’s Sporting CP, because of intimidation by fans and a breakdown in their relationship with the club’s president.
On Friday, a few hours before the game, it emerged
in Spanish news-media reports that Ronaldo himself had agreed to pay the Spanish authorities $21.8 million in unpaid taxes. He also has been given a twoyear suspended jail sentence, the papers said. It would be hard to believe that these developments did not faze him as the game approached.
Still, Ronaldo gave Portugal the lead, winning and converting a penalty after just four minutes of play.
And Ronaldo restored the lead, his shot squirming under David de Gea, the Spanish goalkeeper, as the first half drew to a close. And Ronaldo, with just a few minutes remaining in the second half, lined up a free kick a little outside the Spanish penalty area with Portugal trailing 3-2.
He had taken 44 free kicks in previous World Cups. He had scored on none of them. Ronaldo, at 33, is not the player he was, but even in his twilight, he shines brighter than almost any player with whom he comes into contact.
Spain would have been forgiven for feeling like a victim. It had been the better team in this game, had more of the ball, created more opportunities, played the slicker, smoother soccer.
“We feel very proud of the players after the adversity of the match itself,” Hierro said. “This is a mature squad. It harbors no doubts. It knows what it wants.”