When Christiano Ronaldo Led Portugal to the Round of 16 in EURO 2016

In the game of Football, whenever critics have doubted Christiano Ronaldo for his performance, he has always made sure that the next game produces his best in terms of skill and passion. One such game was during the EURO Cup 2016 when it was the last League Match for the Portugal team as they were placed in Group F and were up against Hungary. To qualify directly to the Knockouts stage of the competition, Portugal needed a win, or if they were looking to qualify through the Ranking of third-placed teams, they had to ensure a draw. Let’s head straight to the highlights of the match and see what happened on that night.

EURO 2016: Portugal vs Hungary in Group Stage

It was the last League Stage match of the EURO 2016 and on 22nd June 2016, Portugal was taking on the Hungary team at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu for a crucial two points in the tournament. Having a seating capacity of 55,514 fans, the game started between the two teams where Hungary was already through to the next round while Portugal needed a win or draw to get their name to the next round of the tournament in the 2016 EURO.

First-Half of the Match

The match started with Portugal dominating possession and creating a few early chances. In the 2nd minute, they earned a corner which was defended by Hungary. Portugal kept probing, with Ronaldo being flagged offside in the 14th minute. Nani won a free-kick on the right wing after a foul by Guzmics, who was shown a yellow card. From the resulting set-piece, Nani headed over the bar from a cross by Eliseu.

Portugal continued to attack, winning another corner in the 16th minute which was cleared by Hungary’s defence. André Gomes then missed the target with a shot from the edge of the box after a short corner routine. At the other end, Balázs Dzsudzsák won a free-kick for Hungary on the left wing after a foul by João Mário. However, the Hungarians could not create any clear chances from it. Portugal came back, with Pepe having a header saved by the Hungarian goalkeeper after João Moutinho’s cross from a corner. 

Mário then fired a shot high and wide from a set-piece situation as the first half ended with Portugal having the better opportunities but being unable to break the deadlock against a resolute Hungarian defence. Despite Portugal dominating on the field, the 19th minute of the game saw Hungary get a lead when the corner was deflected to Zoltán Gera who blasted a shot in the goal to earn a 1-0 lead.

Now, the Hungary team was all up with high spirits as they were in the lead. But Portugal kept probing, winning another corner that led to Carvalho’s header being blocked. Ronaldo then fired a free-kick high over the bar after Gera was booked for a foul on Andre Gomes. Hungary was also threatened when Elek’s shot from the side of the box was saved. Ronaldo had another long-range attempt blocked as Portugal dominated possession. Nani earned a free-kick down the left wing after being fouled by the booked Juhasz. However, Portugal could not capitalize on the set-piece opportunity.

In the 42nd minute of the game, Christiano Ronaldo started with an attack and went through an amazing pass in the box to his teammate Nani who had a brilliant run and tapped the ball into the goal to score an equaliser and bring the scorecard to 1-1 by the end of the first half. For the Portugal team, this goal was crucial as it uplifted the team before going out for the second half and hence both the teams had a real opportunity in the second half.

Second-Half of the Match

The second half of the game started with a chance for the Portugal team but the defenders made sure that the scoreline sticks at 1-1. But the game changed in the 47th minute when Ádám Szalai got a tackle from the Portugal defenders and it somehow ended up as a foul which got Hungary a free kick just outside the box of the Portugal team. Balázs Dzsudzsák took the free-kick aimed at the right side of the goal but it was deflected by a defender and went to the centre of the goal with the keeper failing to stop it.

With this goal, the Hungary team was in the lead now and got a 2-1 lead in the 47th minute of the game. But the happiness of the Hungary team soon turned into disappointment as the 50th minute of the game saw Nani throwing a pass in the box of the Hungary team and to this, Christiano Ronaldo flicked it past the goalkeeper and it went straight to the bottom left corner and thus awarding the Portugal team a goal to get 2-2 scoreline after the first 50 minutes of the match.

In just the first 5 minutes of the second half, the fans saw the game going from Portugal to Hungary and then back to Portugal. Now, it was in the 55th minute of the game when Hungary was on an attack with Balázs Dzsudzsák dribbling, and his shot was deflected by one of the defenders of the Portugal team and it went straight into the Goal to get the Hungary team a 3-2 lead in the match. Portugal’s team was not back again on the hunt to get a goal but they missed a few chances.

But the 62nd minute saw something brilliant for the Christiano Ronaldo fans when Ricardo Quaresma assisted a cross into the box of the Hungary team and it was the jump of Ronaldo where his header saw the ball going to the right side of the goal and it settled the scoreline to 3-3 with still 28 minutes to go in the match. Early on, Ronaldo was flagged offside twice in quick succession as he tried to get on the end of through balls. Quaresma then fired a shot wide from distance after being set up by Sanches.

Ronaldo nodded wide from a Nani cross as another headed opportunity went begging. Hungary made their first change, bringing on Nemeth to replace Szalai upfront. The Portuguese captain then blazed over from inside the box as the chances kept coming his way. Lovrencsics made way for Stieber as Hungary’s second substitution. Portugal also made a change, with Pereira replacing Nani. Quaresma won a free-kick after being fouled by Korhut, but Ronaldo’s set-piece struck from a promising area sailed over.

The last 28 minutes of the game saw multiple opportunities that eventually ended up as missed chances or were saved by the goalkeepers. The match finally ended 3-3 and the Portugal team finished at the third position in the points table of Group F but qualified for the knockouts through the Ranking of third-placed teams and eventually went on to win the EURO 2016 after defeating France in the Finals by 1-0.