THE PASSING OF time in Cristiano Ronaldo’s history-making career was evident in the dramatic late goal that won this game for Portugal.
Francisco Conceição, the 21-year-old, came off the bench in the 90th minute when Czechia were clinging on to a 1-1 draw.
Two minutes later he was ripping off his jersey in celebration when he blasted home the winner from close range after fellow substitute Pedro Neto’s cross from the left was deflected into his path six yards out.
Ronaldo chased his young teammate into the corner to celebrate as the jubilant Portuguese players delivered an instinctive roar of ‘VAMOS’.
Their perseverance and strength in depth paid off.
Ronaldo’s international career began in 2003, the same year that Francisco Conceição’s father Sergio retired from international duty.
Twenty one years later, his influence on the national team would seem to be as strong as ever given Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva attempted to funnel every potential pass his way in the final third.
Fernandes, in particular, produced one stunning defence-splitting pass from deep that gave Ronaldo a sight of goal just after the half hour. Jindřich Stanek was quick off his line to deny the first-time shot inside the area.
You could see Ronaldo’s influence on the new generation in other ways after just eight minutes.
Portugal broke down the left and Czechia were exposed. Rafael Leão was advancing from the wing and rather than take on Vladimir Coufal around the outside and try to get to the endline, the AC Milan forward chopped inside with an exaggerated skip followed by a swift instep flick.
It was straight out of the Ronaldo handbook circa 2004.
That is when he made his debut in the European Championships and, 20 years on, Ronaldo was now the striker waiting in the box for his younger teammate to deliver the cross.
It was an historic appearance in his sixth Euros – more than any player – but Portugal’s record goalscorer fluffed his lines by failing to connect with a header 10 yards out and instead scuffed it wide off his shoulder.
It should have been his 131st international goal – the most recent two, of course, coming against the Republic of Ireland in their send-off friendly.
This was serious business but Ireland’s relevance to how the game panned out remained at half time. It was in Dublin during World Cup qualifying back in 2021 that Portugal were last held to a goalless draw at the interval.
So when Czechia later took the lead against the run of play on 62 minutes, after Lukas Provod produced a controlled strike from the edge of the area, it seemed as though this landmark moment for Ronaldo would end like his first ever appearance: in defeat.
Provod’s technique was pure, the execution clinical. It would remain his side’s only shot on target.
Maybe even Ronaldo could take a brief second to appreciate its class before rallying the troops.
In ’04 it was Greece causing the upset – they’d make a far bigger stir later on, of course, when they beat Portugal in the final – and for seven minutes in Leipzig, the youngest squad in this tournament had a lead that threatened to match Slovakia’s defeat of Belgium yesterday.
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez reacted instantly, substituting Diogo Dalot and Leao for Goncalo Inacio and Diogo Jota, respectively. They increased the tempo and forced an equaliser through an own goal scored by Robin Hranac after Stanek parried Nuno Mendes’ header onto his shins.
Ronaldo was waiting for the tap in and it was he who raced to retrieve the ball and maintain their momentum.
Three minutes from the end of normal time he again showed his threat in the box and looked to have played a key role in the winner when his header from 12 yards out struck the post.
Jota was on hand to nod the rebound into an empty net and the celebrations were wild. But they were short lived, the semi-automated technology confirming Ronaldo was offside from the initial header.
Portugal’s heads didn’t drop, though, and Conceição’s impact was immediate off the bench.
