Scan the fixture list for Qatar’s largest and most luxurious stadium and it gives an indication where their preferences lie. Brazil have played at the Lusail, Argentina too and now it was Portugal’s turn. If it points to the draw of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the deafening applause when the latter was substituted was an illustration of where their affections lie. Briefly, the majority present thought they had got what they had come to see. When Ronaldo leapt highest and the ball nestled in the net, it looked to be the 820th goal of his career, the 119th for Portugal and his ninth in World Cups.
Closer examination suggested that, rather than applying the faintest of touches to Bruno Fernandes’ cross, he had made no contact whatsoever; the lack of his trademark celebration was a clue. If compatriots rarely combined profitably in the red of Manchester United, they had not teamed up to greater effect in the darker hue of Portugal. Instead, the player who remains on the books at Old Trafford ended up with a brace that, on another night, might both have been Ronaldo’s: the captain had been substituted by the time Portugal were awarded a penalty, Fernandes putting the ball under Jose Gimenez and a VAR check revealing it had touched his hand, and, in the absence of the usual taker, rolling in the spot kick. And so Fernandes, not Ronaldo, is now his country’s top scorer at this World Cup 2022.
