E-Paper
Euro 2016: Ronaldo bursts into life as Hungary, Portugal enter last 16
Hungary and Portugal reached the knockout stages of Euro 2016 after a thrilling 3-3 draw in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and became the first player to score at four European Championship finals on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo erupted from his scoring slump by netting his first two goals of Euro 2016 on Wednesday, helping Portugal earn a 3-3 draw with Hungary and sending both teams into the round of 16.
Ronaldo scored in the 50th and 62nd minutes, the first with a spectacular back heel, making him the first player to score in four consecutive European Championships.
“We know he is a world-class player. He is a dangerous player, and you can’t always control him,” Hungary coach Bernd Storck said. “We didn’t give Portugal a lot of chances, but of course when Ronaldo has the ball he can score.”
Portugal ended up with three points in Group F from three draws, advancing as one of the top four third-place teams. Hungary won the group with five points, followed by Iceland in second with the same number of points. Iceland beat Austria 2-1 to eliminate the Austrians.
Read | Euro 2016: Iceland fairytale continues, beat Austria to enter last 16
After not scoring in his team’s opening two draws, the 31-year-old Ronaldo broke out at Stade de Lyon to increase his record haul with his 59th and 60th career goals for Portugal.
Ronaldo wiped away a week of frustrations in France that led to him losing his composure just hours before the match when he responded to a TV reporter’s question by grabbing his microphone and tossing it into a nearby lake.
Read | Ronaldo has answer to reporter’s question, throws mic into lake
Ronaldo’s first contribution came after he had again failed to convert a series of free kicks. Instead, he turned playmaker to set up Nani for an equaliser just before half-time, 23 minutes after Zoltan Gera had given Hungary 1-0 lead.
Balazs Dzsudzsak’s first of two goals, a deflected free kick, put Hungary back in front in the 47th minute. But moments later it was Ronaldo’s turn to get his first goal of Euro 2016.
Dzsudzsak struck again five minutes later with a shot that grazed Nani before looping over Patricio to restore the lead at 3-2. Ronaldo then came through with a second goal to level the score for good when he powered in a header from a cross by substitute Ricardo Quaresma.
