International football is really something different! In those games, anything can happen. When there’s national pride at stake, even average players are capable of raising their game against much-fancied opposition. And we’ve seen two games like that on Wednesday night – albeit with different outcomes.Portugal hosted the Republic of Ireland and needed to summon all their strength to avoid what would have been an embarrassing defeat. Cristiano Ronaldo led his country as captain just a day after re-joining Manchester United, and there are no prizes for guessing that he was the key figure of this encounter.The Portuguese talisman surprisingly missed a 15th-minute penalty and the sense of surprise was even stronger when Sheffield United defender John Egan made it 1-0 to the visitors.🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo = world record holder 🔝#WCQ pic.twitter.com/m3eZNgBRkj— European Qualifiers (@EURO2020) September 1, 2021 Portugal kept on going and pressing, holding the ball for around 70 per cent of the time. Still, all their attempts of forcing and equalizer seemed doomed as the Republic fought with genuine vigour and passion for claiming a victory that would undoubtedly be remembered for years and years.But Ronaldo loves to shatter the dreams of his opponents and he’s done so tonight. He left it late, but he was there just a couple of minutes before the final whistle to tuck a shot past the heroic young goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. With just a couple of minutes to go, Portugal fans were already contemplating that bitter-sweet feeling of snatching a late draw in a match you originally expected to win.#WCQ #PORIRL 89′ Ronaldo scores the equalizer 🔥🔥95′ Ronaldo scores the winning goal 🤩🤩RONALDO GOAT 🇵🇹🐐pic.twitter.com/uChGkDzgao— 𝖥𝖠𝖲𝖳 𝖦𝖮𝖠𝖫𝖲 (@IFAST66) September 1, 2021 Ronaldo didn’t thing about that, of course. That is why he’s so different. His equalizer was the 110th goal he’s scored for his country, making him the world record holder. But it wasn’t enough. Another header, six minutes into the stoppage time. Another goal. Of course, it’s Cristiano – that’s what he does. Game over for Ireland, unspeakable joy for the Portuguese.Manchester United fans must have been watching this game with glee. Oh, what a player they’ve gotten!##EDITORS_CHOICE##While Portuguese journalists wrote in superlatives about their heroes following a dramatic win, those in France are ready to tear their players apart!World Cup holders France hosted Bosnia and Herzegovina, an utterly inept team that’s last won a football match in 2019, some 650 days ago. Yep, that’s right: Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba, Presnel Kimpembe, Karim Benzema against veteran Edin Dzeko, out-of-form Sead Kolasinac and the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina misfiring team. You’d expect The Blues to put the pedal to the floor and grab the top spot in their qualifying group. But their night didn’t go according to plan.Midway through the first half, French midfielder Thomas Lemar played a mindless backpass that wily old Dzeko expertly picked up. The Inter striker scored his nation’s first goal in the last five fixtures and gave the French an even more arduous task.Dzeko just scored a golazo against France right now🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/oPNBp54Wuf— 👑🐉 Perisnitch (@snajaths) September 1, 2021 However, the new-old Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann popped up with a header from a Kylian Mbappe corner just a few minutes later to level for the hosts, who had beaten Bosnia in Sarajevo 1-0 in the reverse fixture five months ago.Just when you’d expect Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus to build up steam and hammer the opponents, they went dormant. A sloppy performance, far too many misplaced passes and a notable lack of ideas or energy played right into the visitors’ hands, who would have been delighted with a point had you offered it to them before kick-off.Things got even worse for the Blues after the break. Jules Kounde, who somehow managed not to sign for Chelsea just a day earlier, got a straight red card for a bad foul. He left his team in a world of trouble – a goal down and a man down. Bosnia continued to frustrate France and got away with a deserved point. The problem is, you see, that they haven’t got a Ronaldo to save them.But the real story of the night was the one down south, in the Algarve.
