Cristiano Ronaldo (40, Al Nassr) received the highest rating of both teams.
On the 5th (Korea time), Portugal defeated Germany 2-1 in the semifinal of the 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League held at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, and now strives for its second title since the 2018-2019 season.
In the early minutes of the match, both teams engaged in a fierce offensive battle. In the first half, Germany had several good opportunities, but they were thwarted by the saves of Portugal's goalkeeper, and both teams ended the first half without scoring. In the 3rd minute of the second half, Germany's Joshua Kimmich made a lob pass into the penalty box, which Florian Wirtz finished with a header, scoring the opening goal.
Portugal quickly launched a counterattack. In the 18th minute of the second half, Francisco Conceição maneuvered from the right side to the center and scored the equalizing goal with a left-footed long-range shot. Then, in the 23rd minute of the second half, Nuno Mendes delivered a low cross, which Ronaldo finished with a dash, scoring the go-ahead goal. This marked Ronaldo's 137th goal in international matches, setting a new record for the most goals in history once again.
Germany aimed for an equalizing goal until the end, with Karim Adeyemi's left-footed long-range shot hitting the crossbar in the 36th minute of the second half, but they could not score further due to Portugal's organized defense. Portugal will face the winner of Spain vs. France in the final at the same location on the 9th.
In this match, Ronaldo not only scored 1 goal but also showcased his presence with 7 shots, a passing accuracy of 87% (13/15), 1 chance created, 9 touches in the opponent's box, and 1 pass in the attacking area, playing a crucial role for Portugal.
In response, Germany's 'Kicker' awarded Ronaldo a rating of 2.5, the highest score overall for both teams. The German media generally rates players on a scale from 1 to 6, with closer proximity to 1 indicating a higher score.
'Kicker' noted, "The veteran and the goal," stating, "Ronaldo seized the first opportunity, but his low shot was safely blocked by Ter Stegen (7th minute), and he cleared Germany's first corner kick with a header (20th minute) but narrowly missed Mendes' cross (47th minute). In the past, he would have caught it."
'They continued, "He sent a pass to Pedro Neto that was too long inside the penalty area (56th minute), and similar to before, he rose up during a corner kick situation for a header, but it went over the goal (60th minute). Then came his great moment. At 40 years old, Ronaldo scored the goal that put Portugal ahead 2-1."
'DW' reported, "Joshua Kimmich's 100th international match was overshadowed by Ronaldo's performance and go-ahead goal. With Portugal securing a 2-1 comeback victory, they once more doused the momentum of Germany's resurgence."
After the match, Kimmich stated, "Even when we were leading 1-0, we didn't show the desire to reach the final. We need to be honest with ourselves. Whether we had the ball or not, we were too passive. Today, we couldn't pour energy onto the field, and therefore, the loss was inevitable."
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