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| Cristiano Ronaldo was key as Portugal reached the Euro 2016 final |
Cristiano Ronaldo is
determined to make his country's dreams come true after spearheading Portugal
to the Euro 2016 final.
Press
Association report continues:
Wednesday
was a seventh semi-final at a major tournament for the Portuguese and resulted
in just their second-ever final, 12 years on from embarrassingly falling to
surprise package Greece on home soil.
The
Euro 2004 defeat still rankles with Ronaldo and the Real Madrid attacker is now
tantalisingly close to making amends, having led Portugal to a 2-0 win against
Wales in Lyon.
The
31-year-old's incredible header early in the second half was followed three
minutes later by Nani turning home his shot, sending them into Sunday's Stade
de France finale against world champions Germany or hosts France.
"This
is different," the man-of-the-match said, comparing this tournament to
Euro 2004.
"I
was 18, that was my first final. My debut. Now 12 years have gone by and now we
are going to play another final. I am very proud of that.
"I
have always dreamed of winning for Portugal, I hope it is our turn now.
"I
am very confident and I believe that all these boys deserve it. I deserve it,
Portugal deserves it, the fans deserve it - every single Portuguese person
deserves it. They've been amazing supporters.
"We've
yet to win anything but it's the final. I don't think many people thought that
Portugal would make it to the final, but we are there.
"That
fills me with pride, I am very happy. Now we have to get ready for Sunday and
we want to make this dream true."
Ronaldo
approaches the match fresh from another historic display, having equalled
Michel Platini's record of nine European Championship goals.
"Record-breaking
is something very nice," he said.
"I
have broken many records before and I am still breaking records for club and
country, but this all comes naturally and the crucial thing was to reach the
final.
"I
am very happy and I am very proud of all my team-mates. Me and the boys have
always dreamt of being there. Now it's almost there.
"I've
always dreamt of winning something for Portugal and now it's just one step
away. Dreaming is free so let's keep dreaming."
Few
could have foreseen Portugal making the July 10 finale having finished third in
Group F behind Hungary and Iceland.
Fernando
Santos' side had not even won a match inside 90 minutes until Wednesday's
semi-final in Lyon, but relentlessly-confident Ronaldo says his belief never
wavered.
"This
is something that I wanted after winning the Champions League," he said.
"I
believed in my heart we would go far in the Euro. Maybe it didn't start off as
well as we wanted it to but this is not a 100 metres dash, this is a marathon.
"We
got past the group stages to the knockout stages.
"When
you think of Nani, Renato (Sanches) and (Ricardo) Quaresma who has also scored,
we're all a team. Portugal is not all about me."
Ronaldo's
delight was as clear as Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale's despair after
Wales' fairytale ended at the semi-final juncture.
The
world's most expensive players have often been perceived to be rivals as much
as colleagues, but the respect was clear in their post-match exchange.
"I
can't tell you what went on," Ronaldo said, having embraced Bale at the
end.
"I
congratulated them on their run, thy had an amazing run. They were the shining
star here, the revelation team.
"I wished them good
luck and as for the rest I would rather not say."
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