Portugal Defeat Wales to Reach the Finals of the 2016 Euro

Bale and Ronaldo

The match was dubbed as the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Gareth Bale showdown almost as soon as the fixture was announced.

However, for Bale and the rest of his team-mates, Wales reaching the semi final of major international tournament was an incredible achievement. An achievement that was not to be overshadowed by an inner club rivalry.

With both players looking either side's main threat, it was Ronaldo who came out on top, thumping a header from a corner on the 50th minute.

Ronaldo's Goal

A second goal from Nani, with the help of Ronaldo's assist, ended Wales' Euro 2016 dream for good.

Nani's Goal

But, rather than gloat, the Portuguese captain consoled his Real Madrid at full time in what was a very classy touch.

Wales were aiming at reaching a major championship finals since 1958, after England won the world cup in 1966 but little did they know that Portugal would end their epic dream of achieving it in Lyon.

It was Gareth Bale's teammate who converted a header to give Portugal the lead before assisting teammate, Nani to rap it up, making it 2-0 for Portugal to proceed to the finals of the tournament.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the man of the match on the night of the game.

Portugal's quick-fire double in 50 and 53 minutes stunned Wales who had looked comfortable at the break. And it ensured £80million ace Ronaldo won his personal duel with Real team-mate Bale.

After the match in Lyon, France

Boss Chris Coleman responded by throwing on all his substitutes and changing formation.

Bale tried his luck from distance several times which tested Rui Patricio but Wales rarely looked like scoring.

Wales badly missed their suspended duo of Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies.

The win was just Portugal's first in 90 minutes in the tournament. They progressed despite their Real Madrid defender Pepe being unfit to play as he was replaced by 34-year-old Bruno Alves as Danilo and Raphael Guerreiro also came in.

Portugal will now face the winners of tonight's semi-final between Germany against France.

Coleman’s team are still expected to climb from 26th to into the top 10 in the FIFA world rankings following their success in France.

Their brave side will be disappointed with their second half display here but they were still applauded off by their proud fans in memorable scenes at the end.