Cristiano Ronaldo proved once again why Portugal still needs him in their team by scoring a late goal in a 2-1 win against Scotland. He came on as a substitute in the second half when Portugal was losing 0-1. Shortly after, he hit both goalposts within seconds and remained a threat for the rest of the game.
Scott McTominay scored in the seventh minute, making Portugal worried. But Bruno Fernandes scored an equalizer in the 54th minute.
In the 88th minute, with the score tied at 1-1, left-back Nuno Mendes dribbled past an opponent and crossed the ball. It touched Diogo Jota’s foot and landed right in front of Ronaldo, who easily scored because the goalkeeper wasn’t there. This goal gave Portugal a 2-1 win.
Bruno Fernandes talked about Ronaldo’s impact, saying, “Ronaldo always has a big effect, whether he starts the game or not.”
He added, “Everyone who came on made a difference. Cristiano scored his 901st goal today and is now aiming for a thousand.”
Portugal leads their group with six points after beating Croatia in their first game. Croatia is in second place with three points. Scotland has lost both of their matches, including a recent 2-3 defeat to Poland. Despite a strong first half against Portugal, where Scott McTominay scored from a great pass by Kenny McLean, Scotland still lost.
After McTominay’s goal, Portugal kept attacking Scotland, but goalkeeper Angus Gunn made some amazing saves to keep the score at 1-0 until half-time. Portugal tried to score 15 times in the first half, but Scotland managed to hold them off.
In the 54th minute, Gunn was beaten when Bruno Fernandes scored for Portugal. Before Ronaldo’s winning goal, Portugal had chances to take the lead, but Joao Felix missed two opportunities.