Euro 2012 Group B: Portugal 2-1 Netherlands
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A double from Cristiano Ronaldo saw Portugal beat the Netherlands 2-1 in Kharkiv to progress to the last eight of Euro 2012 as runners-up of Group B.
The Dutch, who were considered among the pre-tournament favourites, needed a 2-0 victory to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stages.
And Bert van Marwijk's men made the perfect start after just 11 minutes with Rafael van der Vaart steering home an inch-perfect finish into the bottom left corner.
Portugal drew level just before the half-hour mark as João Pereira picked out Ronaldo with a deliciously precise through ball and the Real Madrid winger slipped the ball under Maarten Stekelenburg.
And the Portuguese took the lead with 16 minutes remaining as Nani set up a weighted through ball in towards Ronaldo, who dummied his shot, took the ball into space and prodded home.
Ronaldo then missed a chance for a hat-trick, hitting the post as the Netherlands suffered an untimely elimination from Euro 2012 without a point from the group stage.
Portugal will now face the Czech Republic in the last eight of the tournament on Thursday in Warsaw.
Lineups:
Portugal: Rui Patrício; João Pereira, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão; Raul Meireles (Custódio, 72), Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho; Nani (Rolaldo, 87), Hélder Postiga (Nélson Oliveira, 64), Cristiano Ronaldo
Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg; Gregory van der Wiel, Ron Vlaar, Joris Mathijsen, Jetro Willems (Ibrahim Afellay, 67); Nigel De Jong, Rafael van der Vaart; Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder; Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
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| Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo scores the winner past Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg Photo: Getty Images |
The Dutch, who were considered among the pre-tournament favourites, needed a 2-0 victory to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stages.
And Bert van Marwijk's men made the perfect start after just 11 minutes with Rafael van der Vaart steering home an inch-perfect finish into the bottom left corner.
Portugal drew level just before the half-hour mark as João Pereira picked out Ronaldo with a deliciously precise through ball and the Real Madrid winger slipped the ball under Maarten Stekelenburg.
And the Portuguese took the lead with 16 minutes remaining as Nani set up a weighted through ball in towards Ronaldo, who dummied his shot, took the ball into space and prodded home.
Ronaldo then missed a chance for a hat-trick, hitting the post as the Netherlands suffered an untimely elimination from Euro 2012 without a point from the group stage.
Portugal will now face the Czech Republic in the last eight of the tournament on Thursday in Warsaw.
Lineups:
Portugal: Rui Patrício; João Pereira, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão; Raul Meireles (Custódio, 72), Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho; Nani (Rolaldo, 87), Hélder Postiga (Nélson Oliveira, 64), Cristiano Ronaldo
Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg; Gregory van der Wiel, Ron Vlaar, Joris Mathijsen, Jetro Willems (Ibrahim Afellay, 67); Nigel De Jong, Rafael van der Vaart; Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder; Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
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