A laboured contest morphed into a thriller and, cutting through it all, Cristiano Ronaldo managed to own the story. That was hardly a surprise in the circumstances and it was certainly what the crowd, many dressed in Portugal shirts but a vast swathe clearly present to see one man only, demanded.
Their loyalty was rewarded by an emphatically converted penalty that brought a moment in history. Ronaldo became the first male player to score at five different World Cups and, whether you loathe the circus or adore the fanatical drive and egoism that make him such excruciatingly hard work at 37, it is an achievement nobody can brush off.
