Key events
The withdrawal of Pedri and Fabián Ruiz seemed to be the moment Spain truly lost their stranglehold on this game. Even with Ronaldo’s goal, you felt those two in the middle would create something decisive to win it for La Roja. Isco has done OK since coming on but Merino has been really quiet and Spain probably need a fresh spark either up front or out wide.
On the flip-side, Rafael Leão has injected pace and positivity to the Portuguese attack and, even with Ronaldo off the pitch, Roberto Martinez’s side might fancy their chances in extra-time. It should be an intriguing half hour’s football, albeit a period many of the players could have done without.
FT: Portugal 2-2 Spain – game goes to extra time
Yes, it’s another 30 minutes in Munich! Nothing can separate these two Iberian giants after Cristiano Ronaldo’s second half leveller for Portugal.
90 mins+2: Fernandes smashed it towards the far post and forced Simon to get a strong glove on it. That’ll probably be that …
90 minutes on the clock now. We’ll have another two minutes and if we’re still level, it’s 30 minutes of extra-time.
Zubimendi is booked for tripping Leao. Electric play from the Portuguese wideman. One final chance to whip in some kind of delivery?
88 mins: Yep, that’s it for the great man. Gonçalo Ramos is his replacement up front and Fernandes takes the captain’s armband. Ronaldo gets a big bear hug from Martinez for his efforts tonight.
87 mins: Dean Huijsen has been imperious at the back for Spain, his distribution really a thing to behold, especially for a centre-back.
Ronaldo’s race might be run here, he’s struggling with a knock of some kind.
85 mins: Yamal has done brilliantly there to nick it off Mendes and then hold off Vitinha to win a vital free-kick for his team.
Spain’s wingers are still having a big influence on this game.
So… extra-time and possible penalties, or a late winner?
Spain are pushing a little harder.
83 mins: Oh, Martín Zubimendi that is a stupendous piece of play. He just eats up the ground in front of him, going beyond a couple of red shirts and in the end Costa has to fingertip Isco’s blockbuster shot away for a corner.
81 mins: The delay allows Ronaldo to trot over to his manager and speak a few words of advice into his ear. Do as he says, Roberto!
Finally, Bruno Fernandes is allowed to take the set-piece …. and it leads to nothing, with Cucurella glancing a header away. Neto is then booked for a rugby-style tackle on Yamal.
80 mins: The taking of the corner has been delayed because Diogo Costa is down injured in the other goal. Is it cramp? Surely not.
79 mins: Leao sends in a teasing, curling, dropping cross from the left that urges Semedo to turn it home at the back post. And he would have done, had Cucurella not stretched out a leg to clear. Corner Portugal.
77 mins: From one wing to the other, Williams cuts in and plays it across for Yamal, who hammers a shot goalwards but straight down Costa’s throat.
An email from Joe Pearson: “Ronaldo’s goal was nothing special. With that push on Cucurella, even Barry Glendenning could have scored.”
No comment from me on that one.
74 mins: The two Portuguese players replaced are Inácio and Bernardo Silva, who looks shattered. And finally De la Fuente shuffles his pack in the other dugout, with Isco and Mikel Merino on.
Pedri and Ruiz are, somewhat surprisingly, replaced.
73 mins: Semedo sends a cross straight into the arms of Simon when the cutback to Ronaldo and others was available. Hmmm. Looks like Renato Veiga and Rafael Leão are going to come on for Portugal.
71 mins: Spain have a battery of attacking talent they could bring on … yet no changes thus far. How long will that last?
Yamal sends in a free-kick from the right but there’s nothing doing.
69 mins: Williams feints, shuffles and then shoots cutting in off the left flank and although he’s a full 30 yards away, his shot worried Costa for a moment.
68 mins: Nas Iqbal emails in again to say his Portuguese beach bar has gone “beserk” – and why not? “Sius all round,” he says.
Both teams look threatening now. This is up for grabs.
66 mins: And now, inevitably, I’m getting a load of emails pointing out that I wanted Ronaldo substituted just minutes before he scored.
Is that a reverse commentator’s (live blogger’s) curse?
65 mins: Portugal have clearly gained renewed confidence from that goal.
They couldn’t nick this, could they?
63 mins: Pedri is elusive and he’s nearly restored Spain’s lead within minutes of the equaliser. He ghosts past defenders for fun and only a last-ditch block from Mendes stopped him there.
An email from Sam Pollard:
Hi Dom. I’m watching from a Mexican bar if that’s of any interest. I was just gonna say how sad it is to see CR7 like this and he’s only just gone and scored a goal. Unfortunately that probably means he’ll stay on the pitch longer (I’m rooting for Portugal).
Ronaldo had done precious little in the match… until now. He’s still celebrating to himself as the game restarts, a knowing nod and a smile in the direction of the team dugout.
It was an instinctive volley after Mendes’ cross was deflected. And now it’s game on!
GOAL! Portugal 2-2 Spain (Ronaldo, 61)
OF COURSE THAT HAPPENS! Why do we ever doubt Cristiano Ronaldo?
Nuno Mendes created that with a fine turn of pace and cross, but CR7 was the man on the spot… again!
58 mins: I’m not trying to tell Roberto Martínez how to do his job, but if I were the Portugal head coach right now I’d give serious consideration to hooking Cristiano Ronaldo.
56 mins: Ronaldo has a face like thunder as he’s robbed of possession trying to turn on the halfway line and the move ends with Ruiz thundering his own shot at goal, Costa parrying it away.
55 mins: Nuno Mendes is having himself a really good game. He’s just ballet-danced his way out of trouble and has registered a couple of super-solid challenges on Yamal early in the second half.
Thanks for all the emails from readers who aren’t, in fact, watching from inside a Portuguese bar.
52 mins: There’s a collective gasp from the terraces as Ronaldo gets the ball in the Spain box but the old-stager can do little with it as he’s crowded out. That’s been the story of his night so far.
51 mins: Mendes shuts the door on Lamine Yamal as the Barcelona kid twists and tries to turn inside. The Portugal left-back took a knock for his troubles there.
49 mins: Bruno Fernandes looks to the heavens. He very nearly scored a brilliant goal there, taking the ball back after a round-the-corner give-and-go and slotting it into the corner, befuddling Unai Simon.
There was an offside in that move, to be fair.
47 mins: Shock of shocks, Spain are dominating possession early in this second half, although to be fair Portugal look to be pressing with a little more rigour and energy. How long can they sustain such a press?
Portugal have brought on Nelson Semedo and Ruben Neves, with Joao Neves and Francisco Conceição replaced. That’s a proper right-back on the pitch and an extra midfielder in place of a winger. I suspect Bernardo or Fernandes will now play out wide. Let’s see.
Second half: We’re back under way.
And I’m sorry to report that we witnessed some half-time shirt-swapping as the players traipsed back into their respective changing rooms. Game’s gone gear, it really is.
“We’re sat in a Portuguese beach bar and despite Ronaldo’s limited involvement so far (in this game and many others), the locals here are vehemently willing him to score,” emails Nas Iqbal. It seems as though his involvement already is almost worth a goal and the place will go berserk if he actually does score.”
Is everyone reading this in a Portuguese bar tonight? Wish I was!
Some half-time emails …
Tim Stappard: “I’m watching in a Portuguese cafe. Anyway is anyone marking Williams?”
The defenders might as well be in that cafe with you, Tim.
Peter Oh: “I’m not a Spain fan but they sure know how to move the ball into good spaces. In the build-up to the second goal I exclaimed ‘Oh yeah!’, as in the goal scorer’s name Oh-Yeah-rzabal.”
It’s not even the same name but I keep thinking of the golfer José María Olazábal whenever Oyarzabal is mentioned, Peter.
HT: Portugal 1-2 Spain
Portugal somehow found a route back into the game after some sensational football from Spain, which was capped by Martín Zubimendi’s opener, even if it did have a whiff of offside to it.
Nuno Mendes’ drilled finish was the stroke of genius Portugal needed to get themselves level, but there was little they could do about the Spanish second.
2-1 is a pretty fair representation of the first half. Spain thoroughly merit the lead after 45 minutes.
It really is wonderful midfield play from Pedri. Oyarzabal still had plenty to do, and got his toe in to poke it around Diogo Costa to restore Spain’s lead.
As two minutes are added on to this half, it’s no less than Luis de la Fuente’s team deserve. Sparkling stuff from them.
GOAL! Portugal 1-2 Spain (Oyarzabal, 45)
A cute low finish and Oyarzabal has his goal! He was found immaculately by Pedri’s ball after the midfielder burst elegantly through midfield.
44 mins: Yamal wriggles one way and then t’other … in the end it’s Ronaldo tracking back who wins it off the youngster. Spain keep knocking at the door though and it takes some sharp defending from Joao Neves to take it away from trouble, earning a Portuguese free-kick.
42 mins: Having said that about Spain, they’ve just slowed things down a bit on their past couple of attacks. Building to another crescendo?
39 mins: Neto gets his pass wrong and Spain’s speed of transition is frightening, turning defence to attack. There’s no rest again this forward line. Conceição v Cucurella round 2 is threatening to light up again, as the Spanish full back goes down holding his face.
37 mins: Portugal are at least knitting together some effective sequences now. Vitinha is seeing more of the ball in the middle.
And Neto has that ability to turn the afterburners on, which is becoming a worry for Spain’s inexperienced right-back Oscar Mingueza.
34 mins: Fabián Ruiz picks up a wholly unnecessary booking. There wasn’t any need for him to be bundling Neto over as Portugal broke there – Spain had bodies back.
32 mins: Ronaldo wasn’t even offside in the buildup to that goal, despite me and ITV’s Andros Townsend both being adamant that he was. Shows what we know etc etc.
