made European
Championship history
as Portugal ended
Wales's extraordinary
Euro 2016 journey with
a 2-0 semifinal win on
Wednesday that sent
them into the final.
In what was billed as a
shootout between Ronaldo and his Real Madrid
teammate Gareth Bale, it was the Portugal captain
who prevailed, opening the scoring in Lyon with a
majestic 50th-minute header that saw him tie
France great Michel Platini's record of nine goals at
Euro finals.
finished the night consoling Bale on the Stade de
Lyon pitch.
hope on Sunday you'll see me crying with joy,"
Ronaldo said.
"I always said I wanted to win something with
Portugal. I've been at the highest level for 13 years.
The statistics never lie."
Bale told ITV: "We're obviously massively
disappointed. But we've got to be proud of ourselves
first and foremost.
"We've given everything, on the pitch, off the pitch.
We've tried to enjoy the experience of the
tournament. We want to thank the fans for all the
support we've had – it's been absolutely
incredible."
Fernando Santos's Portugal now go on to a Sunday
showdown at the Stade de France with either
Germany or hosts France.
While Ronaldo – whose three goals leave him one
behind France's Antoine Griezmann in the
tournament rankings – aims for his first
international trophy, Bale and Wales's dreams of
emulating Greece ultimately came up short.
Missing the suspended Aaron Ramsey, they failed to
test a Portugal team who had not previously won
inside 90 minutes at the tournament.
But having reached the last four in their first major
competition since the 1958 World Cup, Chris
Coleman's side and their red-shirted fans leave
France with their reputation enhanced.
West Ham United defender James Collins got the
nod for Wales in place of the suspended Ben Davies
and he coped manfully with the threat posed by
Ronaldo in the first half, although he was perhaps
fortunate to escape censure for a penalty-box
headlock on the Portugal captain.
Ronaldo had to wait until the 44th minute until his
first sight of goal, heading over from Adrien Silva's
inswinging left-flank cross, while Joao Mario
dragged a shot across goal and wide.
With Ramsey absent, there was even more onus
than usual on Bale to make things happen for Wales
and he was the stand-out player in an otherwise
flat first period.
COLEMAN GOES FOR BROKE
From Joe Ledley's training-ground corner he
swiped a shot into the stands, while a galloping run
down the right wing culminated in a shot that flew
straight into Rui Patricio's gloves.
But if the first half was all about Bale, the second
was all about Ronaldo.
A short corner on Portugal's left yielded the opening
goal five minutes after the restart.
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.
Wales had taken control of the game after falling
behind to Belgium in the quarterfinals, ultimately
winning 3-1, but Portugal gave them no chance of
doing that by scoring a second goal within three
minutes.
Ronaldo was this time the provider, albeit
inadvertently, as his mishit shot was prodded into
the net by his former Manchester United teammate
Nani.
Coleman made three attacking changes, sending on
Sam Vokes, Simon Church and Jonathan Williams
for Joe Ledley, Hal Robson-Kanu and Collins.
Bale twice worked Rui Patricio with swerving efforts
from range, but Portugal remained a threat, with
Nani, Jose Fonte and Danilo all testing Hennessey.
By the end Wales's fire had burnt itself out, but their
fans continued to sing as the seconds ticked away
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