Ronaldo treble took Portugal to Brazil

Cristiano Ronaldo scores Portugal's opening goal against Sweden
with his first brilliant finish of the night

If Portugal decide to record a song to accompany their passage to Brazil, maybe they will consider borrowing something from the Millwall pantheon in honour of their captain. No one likes him, but he doesn't care, for Cristiano Ronaldo is going to the World Cup, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not.

While Sweden did their best to dictate the play at the outset, a glut of misplaced passes suggested that Portugal's main test on a chilly evening would be one of mental, rather than technical fortitude.

Though one of Paulo Bento's major concerns would have been Sweden's threat from set pieces, it was Portugal who created the game's first moment of real danger from a dead ball situation on the quarter-hour, with Andreas Isaksson plunging low to his right to push away Bruno Alves' meaty header from a João Moutinho delivery. Moutinho's next pass was considerably looser, allowing Martin Olsson to burst forward after intercepting, but the Norwich left-back dragged his shot wide of Rui Patrício's near post from just outside the area.

 

Ronaldo prove he better than Zlatan

 

The main event, between Messrs Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo, was once again proving to be a slow burner. As is often the case for both, they seemed burdened with over-responsibility, trying to wrest the match to their individual wills single-handed. Sweden's talisman got sucked deeper and deeper to try and fill the creative void in midfield – just where Portugal wanted him.

 

It proved decisive. Ronaldo took his chance seconds after, speeding onto Moutinho's visionary through pass to move clear and strike left-footed past Isaksson. As the skipper soaked up the boos from the stands, the Portuguese bench celebrated wildly, jumping and cavorting on the pitch.

 

Portugal were panicking, but their hero came up with the goods again, running onto Almeida's over-the-shoulder through ball and smashing home, again left-footed, from an unforgiving angle. He greedily snaffled his treble soon after, gathering another superb Moutinho pass and rounding Isaksson before driving the ball high into the net to inspire a tracksuited Portuguese pitch invasion.