It took a while to get going, but in the end the Group F opening clash between Hungary and Portugal was a bit of a throwback - a football match that included a capacity crowd, and another record broken by Cristiano Ronaldo.
He may be starting to slow down at the age of 36 but his hunger for goals, records and trophies is as strong as ever. The fact that this is Ronaldo's FIFTH consecutive appearance at a Euros is impressive enough, especially considering the number of games he has played in the years between 2004 and this tournament. But add to that his outrageous list of scoring records and things just start to get a bit ridiculous.
Hungary looked solid in front of a 65,000 strong crowd at the Puskás Arena in Budapest and they were very much in the game as it remained scoreless into the final stages. They even had a goal disallowed on 80 mins before Portugal finally broke their resolve with a slightly fortunate deflected shot from Raphael Guerreiro just minutes later.
GOAL #POR - Raphael Guerreiro breaks #HUN hearts to give Portugal the lead #HUN 0-1 #POR #HUNPOR #Euro2020 #RTESoccer
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/gj4yyjltsI
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE pic.twitter.com/iFot9Jjvt0— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 15, 2021
Then in the final five minutes, it became the Ronaldo show.
There was never any doubt who was going to step up and take Portugal's penalty to make it 2-0. CR7 revelled in the moment with a big exhale for the cameras before clinically dispatching the penalty and eye-balling the home fans as he celebrated his 105th international goal.
GOAL #POR – History-making Ronaldo scores from the spot after Rafa Silva is pulled down in the box by Orban #HUN 0-2 #POR #HUNPOR #Euro2020 #RTESoccer
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/gj4yyjltsI
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE pic.twitter.com/ttGvqAu7Uo— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 15, 2021
It didn't take long for his 106th to arrive - as a deflated Hungarian defence started to open up, Ronaldo took full advantage with a lovely passing exchange with Ferreira Silva which he then finished off to seal a 3-0 win.
GOAL #POR – Ronaldo puts a gloss on the scoreline with his 11th goal in European Championship finals #HUN 0-3 #POR #HUNPOR #Euro2020 #RTESoccer
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/gj4yyjltsI
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE pic.twitter.com/8hvuwU7tVl— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 15, 2021
This leaves Ronaldo as the first player to score in five different European Championship tournaments and the all-time leading scorer in the competition with 11.
One of the big narratives of the European club season was the fading influence of Ronaldo and Messi at the business end of the Champions League. If this evening is anything to go by, Ronaldo is still the man for the big occasion and he's certainly in the mood to enjoy himself this summer.
