Portugal defeated Turkey. Photo:
There were no goals, one assist and no fewer than four selfie-chasing pitch invaders for Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Turkey that secured a place in the European Championship round of 16 on Saturday.
Ronaldo was the center of attention at the Westfalenstadion as always, but not in the way he expected.
The five-time world player of the year set up Bruno Fernandes’ third goal with an unselfish pass, while he could easily have tried a shot after a clean pass.
Then chaos ensued when three fans entered the pitch at different times in the second half and tried to take selfies with Ronaldo. He accepted the first, but looked unhappily at the other two.
Another phone-waving supporter, wearing a Portugal jersey, reached Ronaldo just after the final whistle and security had to hold back another person who tried to confront one of the world’s most famous sports stars as he walked off the pitch with his teammates.
Ronaldo may be unluckier for failing to score against a Turkey team that has at times been his own worst enemy.
Not least in the 28th minute, when Turkish centre-back Samet Akaydin, trailing 1-0 after Bernardo Silva’s goal seven minutes earlier, delivered a back pass that rolled to the side of his goalkeeper and straight into the net ended up.
Portugal confirmed its first 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic and have qualified with a match to spare from Group F.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: June 23, 2024 | 12:51 pm IST