Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his 900th career goal.
Photo: EFE – RODRIGO ANTUNES
Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 39 years of age scored his 900th goal of his career, beat Croatia 2-1 on Thursday at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, in the opening match of their UEFA Nations League group.
The Selection achieved its victory over the current runner-up of the tournament thanks to its effectiveness in the first half, in which it was clearly superior.
The home side opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Diogo Dalot, who finished off a great collective move after an assist from Bruno Fernandes. However, Dalot had a completely different experience in the 41st minute, when he scored against his own side.
Before that, Cristiano Ronaldo had scored in the 34th minute to reach the milestone of 900 goals in his career. It was with a powerful shot thanks to a perfect cross from Nuno Mendes. On this milestone, Cristiano commented: “900 goals seems like any other milestone, but only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal. It is something unique in my career. I don’t break records, they chase me.”
Video: Cristiano Ronaldo’s 900th goal
“Winning the Euro with Portugal is like winning the World Cup”
This personal challenge was one of the incentives that the 39-year-old player, who has spent the last two seasons in Saudi Arabia and seems close to retirement, had in mind for this match.
“Portugal winning a European Championship is the same as winning a World Cup. I have already won two trophies with Portugal, which is what I really wanted. I am not motivated by winning other things. I am motivated by enjoying football and records come by themselves,” added the Portuguese captain after the match.
This is how the match ended
The scoreline remained unchanged in the second half. Portugal continued to have the best chances, but failed to convert them against a Croatia side that tried to be more offensive in the final half, but without success.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a good chance in the 76th minute to have scored his 901st goal. He was replaced with a few minutes remaining by Diogo Jota.
This match at Benfica also served as a tribute to Pepe, who at 41 has just retired after having played for the national team for 17 years. Pepe was with the team at the recent European Championship, where France cut their path in the quarter-finals.
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