Ronaldo Upstaged By Subs As Portugal Find Way To Win

Cristiano Ronaldo spans the generations. He in effect replaced Sergio Conceicao in the Portugal squad two decades ago.

- RICHARD JOLLY

Twenty years on, as Ronaldo set his latest record, Sergio’s son Francisco Conceicao proved Portugal’s rescuer, upstaging even the old master, providing the sort of dramatic late winner that has long been the 39-year-old’s trademark.

Roberto Martinez, unusually timid initially, had gambled after seeing a Diogo Jota goal disallowed and made a triple change on 90 minutes.

On, along with Nelson Semedo, came Pedro Neto and Conceicao. The two wingers had barely entered the game when they decided it. Neto’s cross was blocked but not cleared by the luckless Robin Hranac and fell for Conceicao to drive in. If nothing else, it was proof of Portugal’s immense depth of talent.

They were not even the first wingers Martinez had brought off the bench. That was Jota, who had sparked euphoric, if shortlived, celebrations himself, showing his predatory sense to bury the rebound when Ronaldo’s header struck the post. It felt a classic Ronaldo header, propelling himself to a rare height, those finely honed neck muscles on show, but semi-automated technology – they certainly didn’t have that when Ronaldo played with Sergio Conceicao – denied him. Ronaldo’s shoulder was offside; as the years have passed he can tend to make his runs a little earlier, to such an extent that when Portugal’s movement kicked off, he was already 10 yards into the Czechia half.