Looking back at the light side of a seriously contested clash between Portugal and Uruguay
Portugal secured passage to the next round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win over Uruguay in a close encounter in Group H.
However, the identity of the first goalscorer was not as straightforward as it usually is as two players laid claim to the all-important goal at the Lusail Stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo wheeled away in celebration with the belief that he had scored his 119th goal for his country and his second of the 2022 World Cup but replays showed that wasn’t the case.
The stealing GOAT
The eighth of the ten commandments say « thou shalt not steal » but it is obvious Cristiano Ronaldo ignored that instruction against Uruguay.
The legendary striker raced away with arms wide open in wild celebration of the open goal, a sight we have seen many times before, except this time, it wasn’t his goal and he knew it.
Bruno Fernandes whipped in a dangerous cross with Ronaldo as the intended target in the 54th minute but the striker couldn’t get the required touch on it to connect as he would have wanted.
Lucky for Portugal, the ball went in anyway, directly from Bruno’s cross but Ronaldo celebrated away in an attempt to claim the goal.
His desire to score in every game, heightened by the fact that Messi, his eternal nemesis scored his second of the tournament for Argentina a day before must have been the main motivation for his attempt to claim a goal he knew he didn’t touch, turns out even GOATs can be affected by peer pressure.
To make matters worse, Ronaldo was substituted off in the 82nd minute and Portugal were awarded a penalty eight minutes later, one which he would have taken had he been on the pitch.
Bruno Fernandes stepped up and converted to make it 2-0 for his brace which could very well have been a Ronaldo brace on another day.
Pulse
