Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hattrick as the heavyweight clash between Spain and Portugal ended in a 3-3 draw.
Ronaldo may have scored a blinder of a free-kick to salvage a draw for his national team, but his post-match interview signified the value he placed on the contribution of his teammates in the match.
Ronaldo’s performance in the game was of the highest quality – a well-taken penalty, a rocket from outside the box which caused David De Gea out of all goalkeepers to commit a howler, and a free-kick which defied the laws of physics. However, Ronaldo was more focused on his teammates, as any captain should be, after the match.
“Above all we have to stress the efforts of the team. We fought until the end,” Cristiano Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo left the people in awe with his stunning free-kick, but gathered a lot of appreciation for his conduct in the post-match interview.
Earlier in the game, Ronaldo opened the goal-scoring when he was fouled by Nacho in the penalty area and referee awarded the penalty to Portugal. The clash between two European heavyweights didn’t leave the people disappointed, and quite poetically marked off the tournament in style.
Also: Spain vs Portugal – Report
After the match, Ronaldo took to Twitter to thank to appreciate his Portugal teammates for their performance. He wrote, “Vamos familia! (Come on family!)
Cristiano Ronaldo also became the oldest player to score a world cup hattrick in its history.
With the draw, both Spain and Portugal share one point each. All the four games in the world cup have been top-notch in terms of entertainment, as two of them saw late winners. Uruguay snatched a win against a Salah-less Egypt, while Morocco scored an own-goal in the 95th minute to concede the match to Iran.
Russia scored five past Saudi Arabia in the first match of the World Cup.
