Portugal 2-1 Croatia
A UEFA Nations League reunion of two ‘golden oldies’, two of the greats of the modern game, two of the greats of football history.
It was natural that most eyes would be on Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric, the only difference was the pre-match narrative.
While many pundits were purring over how wonderful it was to see Modric still pulling the strings, others (mainly British based media who have never forgiven him for causing so much damage to the English national team in successive tournaments), were calling on Ronaldo to stand down.
How typical then, of arguably the greatest talent to have played the game, to stick two fingers up at his critics and deliver the telling blow.
Highlights of the game
As the Estadio da Luz anticipated Nations League highlights, the majority inside didn’t have long to wait to smile.
Only seven minutes were on the clock when a familiar combination for club and country paid dividends.
Bruno Fernandes supplied the through ball and Diogo Dalot did with the rest by arrowing a left shot into the bottom left corner.
It was an ideal start for the hosts who were backed strongly with the SBOTOP Nations League betting odds.
You’d have expected nothing else as Portugal only bowed out in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 because France had slightly more accuracy from 12 yards.
By contrast, Croatia’s golden generation appeared to be gently disappearing over the vanishing point and failed to get out of their group, albeit a tough one, in Germany this summer.
The key goal arrived 11 minutes before the break when Nuno Mendes supplied the cross and there was Ronaldo to lash home what proved to be the winner, reacting quicker than anyone else.
Manager Roberto Martínez has shown no inclination to respond to any public opinion urging him to move on CR7, who continues to show a relentless appetite, and here was vindication as he netted a landmark 900th career goal and a record-extending 131st goal for Portugal.
Similarly, his compatriot Modric has no plans to call time on his international career just yet, even if he can’t guarantee he will still be involved by the time of the 2026 World Cup in the US.
His side were back in the tie just before the break when goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic’s quick thinking sparked a break and Andrej Kramaric timed his run perfectly. He initially held up play and, when Borna Sosa nudged it back into the danger zone, the unfortunate Dalot struck the ball into his own net.
That was how the scoring stayed.
Modric will be 39 on Monday and there had been vague talk in Spain that the decision to prolong his international career has not gone down with unanimous acclaim at Real Madrid, who might have assumed when they offered him a one-year contract extension in July that they would finally be getting him to themselves.
Not quite yet it appears.
As for the county he captains with distinction, Croatia pushed Spain all the way in the most recent Nations League Final but, at the time, it seemed the pinnacle for a nation of just 3.8 million people.
It appears unlikely that will change before their talisman calls it a day.
Key statistics
Ronaldo struck twice for Sporting Lisbon in October 2002, at the age of 17, and has not stopped scoring since.
A year later he moved to Manchester United, scoring 118 goals in 293 games for the Red Devils before joining Real Madrid in 2009 for a then world record £94 million.
In nine years at the Spanish giants, he scored 450 times before making the move to Italy to join Juventus.
He added another 101 goals to his tally during his three years with the Italian club before returning to United, where he would score 27 goals in 54 matches.
Since January last year, he has scored 68 times for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
Portugal are unbeaten in six of their last seven matches against Croatia. They also beat Croatia 3-2 in the last Nations League match, the last time they met in a competitive fixture.
Twenty goals have been scored in the last seven match-ups between the sides.
Both teams have scored in each of the five of the last six meetings.
What’s next?
Portugal host Scotland on Sunday evening (September 8) in their next Nations League match, while Croatia entertain Poland.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
