Spain and Germany put on a good fight in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals in Munich, but it was the Portuguese who came out on top thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo. The top scorer scored the decisive goal in the 2-1 win and will have another chance to win another trophy for his country.
During the first half, the Germans started with a greater attacking impact, prowling around the opponent's penalty area and managing to impose themselves, while Portugal opted for counter-attacks and defensive protection. It's worth remembering that coach Robert Sánchez went into the game under pressure with a possible dismissal in the event of defeat.
Germany's superiority in the first 45 minutes was confirmed at the start of the second half with a controversial goal. Kimmich lifted the ball into the box in the 48th minute and Wirtz headed the goal with possible interference from Woltemade, in a block on Rúben Dias. The VAR was called, but the referee validated the goal after only 10 seconds of review.
After conceding the goal, Roberto Martínez changed the structure of his team and Francisco Conceição made an immediate impact by scoring a spectacular goal from outside the box in the 64th minute. But the moment of greatest impact came shortly afterwards, with Cristiano Ronaldo deciding yet another game in his career.
Four minutes after the equalizer, Nuno Mendes carried the ball very well down the right flank and laid the ball off for Cristiano Ronaldo to finish in a move that showed the top scorer's excellent vision of the game, staying just behind the line of the ball so as not to cancel the game out for offside.
Germany hit the post and came close to drawing against Portugal
Germany tried to attack in the final minutes and came close to equalizing. In one of their attacking moves, Adeyemi received the ball on the left and broke into the penalty area, only to hit the post. In stoppage time, Ter Stegen prevented goals from Diogo Jota and Conceição, but Portugal went through.