MANAUS, Brazil – It took Cristiano Ronaldo 94 minutes plus a heavy fistful of change before he showed the magic that makes him the world’s best player.
And the United States paid for it.
At the end of an exhilarating game the U.S. looked to have won thanks to a dramatic comeback, there was a final twist of the knife to come from the man who divides opinion like few others in soccer, but has unmistakable brilliance.
Love
or hate him – and there will be at least a few U.S. fans reaching for
their Ronaldo voodoo dolls right now – the fact is that he has the
ability to turn a game on its head in a way few others can, except
perhaps some guy called Messi.
That is what happened just at the moment the U.S. thought its job was done, leading 2-1 with nothing more than a few ticks on the clock, deep into injury time at the Arena da Amazonia.
[Related: Could stoppage time have hurt USA?]
Suddenly the ball was at
Ronaldo’s feet and he sprinted forward, catching the exhausted Americans
flat-footed. You can’t give Ronaldo a foot of space. Not even when he
is struggling with a knee injury. Not even when he is at perhaps 80
percent capacity. Not even when you’ve shut him down for 90 minutes and
more.
Portugal‘s Silvestre Varela (right) scores off a cross from Ronaldo. (AP)
“We did such a good job on
Ronaldo,” defender Matt Besler said. “It is funny, the last play of the
game he finally gets into open space, which he wasn’t allowed all night.
Instead of trying to take someone on one-on-one, he takes a touch and
moves in a world-class ball.”
The U.S. worked and fought with ferocity and tirelessness, never giving Ronaldo an inch. When he went to the right, Fabian Johnson stuck close to his flashing feet. When he switched left, DaMarcus Beasley and Jermaine Jones refused to buckle. When he ventured across the field, Kyle Beckerman was a constant shadow.
At different times and in
different ways there were others getting in Ronaldo’s way, nipping at
his heels, blocking his path to goal, trying to anticipate his next feat
of trickery.
Sure, Germany
had managed it days earlier, but that was Germany – a machine built to
deal with a brilliant individual opponent like no other. This was a U.S.
lineup with seven players from Major League Soccer.[Gallery: Agony and ecstasy - Biggest moments of U.S. vs. Portugal]
“We had an exquisite game plan [for Ronaldo] and I thought we executed it brilliantly,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “Portugal didn’t hurt us really.”
Until that telling moment when they did.
Portugal is still alive, by a
thread, and the Americans, having been so close to qualification they
could taste it, find themselves with some more work to do.
Having been seconds away from having conquering Ronaldo, in the end the U.S. merely survived him.
That, for now, will have to do.
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