Lyon: On Wednesday, Portugal defeated Wales 2-0 to
reach the finals of Euro Cup 2016, which is the
15th edition of the tournament.
A tight first half saw the sides go in 0-0 at the
break, but Portugal scored twice within the space of three second-half minutes
to end Wales’ chances of reaching a major final for the first time.
For Portugal, it offers Cristiano Ronaldo and his team
the chance to win a major tournament for the first time when they appear in the
final on Sunday – when they will face the winners of Thursday’s semi-final
between host-nation France and world champions Germany.
After a first half of few chances, the game burst into
life in the second half when Ronaldo rose highest to power in a header from a
corner on 50 minutes. Nani doubled the lead for Portugal on 53 minutes
when he poked in a Ronaldo shot, leaving Wales with a deficit they were unable
to overturn.
Wales worked hard and pressed towards the end, but
ultimately lacked the quality to break down the Portuguese defense.
The game had been billed as a clash between two Real
Madrid teammates – Ronaldo of Portugal and Gareth Bale of Wales – but it was
the Portugal captain who came out on top as he scored the opening goal and saw
his shot turned in by Nani for the second.
Bale for the most part was restricted to long-range
efforts that rarely troubled Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio. Welsh fans
continued to back their team till the end, and will be proud of the players'
efforts in reaching a stage of the tournament few had expected.
Portugal were the underdogs at the start of the
tournament.
On Thursday, the second semi-final will be fought
between Germany and France.
The finals will take place on July 10.
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