The three-time Ballon d’Or victor Cristiano Ronaldo rose above the Welsh defense to head home Portugal’s first goal in the 50th minute.
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By thumping home a header and setting up strike partner Nani for the second goal, Ronaldo delivered two blows in three minutes to lead Portugal to a 2-0 win over Wales in a Euro 2016 semifinal on Wednesday. With victory sealed, Ronaldo embraced his club teammate at the end.
“My first game at the helm of the team was two years ago, and our goal was to reach here (the final)”, Santos said.
“I have always dreamed of winning for Portugal – I hope it is our time now”. I am very proud of that. Wales manager Chris Coleman didn’t have players coming off the bench who could make a difference.
“He’s a natural goal-scorer and he scored yet again”, said Bale.
“We’re obviously massively disappointed. You just need to get on with it with the help of strong people behind you and we know we’ve done the nation proud and we’ve done ourselves proud”.
“The boys are going back to Wales now to see the fans but I’ve got a wedding to attend”, he said.
The unified, and entirely predictable, message from both camps before the game was that the encounter in the Stade de Lyon would be about “eleven v eleven” and not “Ronaldo v Bale”.
Raphael Guerreiro curled a cross to the back post and Ronaldo leapt above James Chester, seeming to hang in the air, before powering a header past Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey’s flailing left hand. Ronaldo’s shot was useless.
Cardiff City stadium has a capacity of 33,000.
Ronaldo also saw his shot turned in by Nani for a second goal in the 53rd minute, ending Wales’ remarkable run at their first major finals since 1958. “I wished him good luck and as for the rest (of the conversation) I’d rather not say”.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) will host a special event in Cardiff for fans to celebrate the achievements of Chris Coleman’s side.
His experience is also a major factor as the Welsh look to deal with the threat of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who will undoubtedly feature in the Portugal eleven this evening.
Santos said he would be closely analysing Thursday’s game between France and Germany for potential weaknesses.
But Ledley will now fly to Ibiza for the ceremony on a private plane after pulling out all the stops to make the big day happen in front of close friends and family and sacrificing being part of today’s team homecoming.
But they will still be missing centre-back Mats Hummels through suspension and striker Mario Gomez and midfielder Sami Khedira through injury.
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Portugal are through to the final of the ongoing European Championships in France. “It’s such a young squad so we can’t be deflated after this – getting to the semi-final”. “We’ve grown in confidence, we- ‘ve grown in stature and I think we’ll be more respected”.
