The situation
Cristiano Ronaldo’s historic match in which he became the first player in history to score in five consecutive World Cups had an image that immediately went viral. On the brink of the break, he rose to try to finish off a cross at the far post and remained suspended in the air for several seconds. His shot went wide, but the plasticity of the action did not go unnoticed. “Huge”, “At 37 years old, he still jumps like this”, were some of the comments that people in the networks made about a prodigious jump, one more in his collection of spectacular images that he has left throughout his career. Cristiano was acclaimed throughout the match at the 974 stadium and also won the award for the best footballer of the match. One of the great protagonists of Portugal’s victory over Ghana was Joao Félix. The Atlético player started, taking advantage of the absence of Diogo Jota in the World Cup due to injury, and occupied the left sector of the attack with success , without noticing the pressure of playing in a World Cup starting despite not having been fixed this season in the Athletic. In addition to combining very well with the rest of his teammates, Joao scored a goal, which was also very important, the momentary 2-1, which gave Portugal the lead again despite the fact that Ghana had tied shortly before. “ With the goal I lived one of the most chilling moments of my career. It was like suffering in the Portuguese style, but we won”, he commented afterwards.
The details
The reality is that his successful game contrasts with the discreet season that he has carried out under Cholo at Atlético de Madrid. The data supports this. There was no player on the pitch who offered himself so many times to receive the ball (110) , which speaks of the personality he had to participate in the game. He didn’t wrinkle. He did not hide. The 88 minutes played in the debut reflect the importance it can have in the World Cup for Fernando Santos. Even Cristiano Ronaldo praised him after the match. “They have given me the MVP but they could have given it to Bruno Fernandes or Joao Félix,” said the Portuguese star. A dream premiere for the Atlético player, quite the opposite of what he experienced in the first part of the season in which in many of the games he was a substitute for Simeone. The World Cup catapults the best Joao.