Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani struck in quick succession for Portugal as Fernando Santos' side stunned Wales with a 2-0 win to reach the Euro 2016 final.
Wednesday night's semi-final in Lyon was billed as a battle between Real Madrid team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, but in truth it no contest as the Portugal captain scored the opener and created the second as his side sucker-punched Wales after a cagey first half.
Ronaldo put Portugal ahead with a superb header from a corner five minutes after the restart, and Wales were soon two goals behind before they had time to regroup.
Ronaldo collected a weak clearance 25 yards out, and his skewed shot was turned past Wayne Hennessey from close range by Nani just three minutes after the opener.
Chris Coleman played three quick substitutions in an effort to find a way back into the game, but Wales' fantastic tournament was undone by three minutes of careless marking.
Bayern Munich's £30million summer signing Renato Sanches showed what a buy he is as the 18-year-old dominated the midfield in the absence of the suspended Aaron Ramsey, who was a massive miss for Wales as Coleman's side lacked creativity.
Bale was all too often forced to try and create his own chances, with the Real Madrid forward relegated to dropping deep for the ball and trying to provide dead-ball deliveries for his team-mates.
Portugal - who picked up their first win in normal time of the competition so far - will now face either Germany or hosts France in the final on 10 July, while Wales are left to wonder what could have been.
.jpg)
0 Comments