Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo’s five most clutch goals for Portugal
3. Second goal of a hat-trick against Sweden in World Cup Qualifiers 2013
Every football-playing nation dreams of playing World Cup football. And for a team like Portugal, it’s not a dream but something that is expected of them. But when that world cup qualification is in doubt, you can sense disbelief among fans. And when the deciding game is against a top team led by an influential individual, you can see people losing hope.
When Portugal was drawn against Sweden in the World Cup playoffs of 2013, this was the exact same situation. Portugal won the first leg of the two-legged fixture by 1-0, but nothing was decided yet, and 90 more minutes would decide the nation’s fate. It was a challenge but as always, Ronaldo was up for it.
In a nervy encounter that involved end-to-end football, Ronaldo helped calm some nerves by scoring a great goal with his left foot on the break. It doubled the overall lead and gave the men in red some breathing space, but Sweden’s talisman, Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn’t ready to give up. He leveled the score with back-to-back goals with just four minutes in between. With Sweden playing in their home, the tide was in their favor.
But you are called a mentality monster for nothing, aren’t you? These tough times bring the best out of you, and the same happened with Ronaldo, as he immediately restored the overall lead with a beautiful left-footed half-volley on the break. As if that wasn’t enough, he wanted to show his stamp of authority, and completed his hat-trick just two minutes later, which kept a full stop to Sweden’s hopes of making it to the World Cup.
In each of the three goals, the counter-attacking template was common. You could see Ronaldo making runs behind the defense and taking advantage of Sweden’s high line. This talks a lot about Ronaldo’s off-the-ball movement and the presence of mind in an emotional match
This performance didn’t just take Portugal to a World Cup. It gave them the license to dream bigger. And it also boosted Ronaldo’s chances to win his second Ballon d’Or.