Cristiano Ronaldo Ends Germany’s UEFA Nations League Run

There will be no first trophy contested by Germany in the Julian Nagelsmann era on Sunday after Germany lost 2-1 to Portugal in the semifinal of the UEFA Nations League. While Florian Wirtz (48’) opened the scoring for Germany in front of 70,000 fans at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Portugal managed to strike back in the form of Francisco Conceicao (63’) and Cristiano Ronaldo (68’).

The semifinal of the UEFA Nations League was also the 100th cap of Germany captain Joshua Kimmich. According to Transfermarkt, the 30-year-old becomes just the 14th German men’s national team player to reach this milestone.

It is an incredible milestone for Kimmich. But it also comes with a bitter note. Among the list of players who have played 100 games or more, Kimmich is the only one to have never won a World Cup for his country. Indeed, the only trophy Kimmich has won with Germany is the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

With that in mind, the UEFA Nations League would hardly have been a compensation for generation Kimmich. But winning the title would have gone a long way toward improving Germany’s chances at future tournaments. After all, wins in games against top teams like Portugal improve the FIFA coefficient standings and increase the chance of an easier group at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

“That was one of our worst games,” Kimmich said after the game. “It was an absolutely deserved defeat. We weren’t good enough with or without the ball. After going 1-0 up, we showed nothing at all. We must learn from that. If we don’t bring energy, we can’t compete against top European teams.”

While the result was disappointing for Germany, it was the first win for Cristiano Ronaldo against Die Nationalmannschaft. The Portuguese striker had lost the five previous games against Germany, and now, at the tender age of 40 years and 119 days, he has finally slayed his demon.

Indeed, the legendary Portuguese striker secured the win with a tap-in goal in the second half. Great for Ronaldo and Portugal, but for Germany, it underlined significant weaknesses in the backline without Real Madrid center-back Antonio Rüdiger.

“We made two massive tactical mistakes ahead of the goals,” Nagelsmann said. “That is why we lost the game.” Nagelsmann also admitted that his changes didn’t have the desired impact. “Their substitutions worked better.”

The back-three of Waldemar Anton, Robin Koch, and Jonathan Tah struggled whenever Portugal quickly broke forward. Even before Portugal turned around the result, the quick wingers Pedro Neto and Trincao overran the backline at times. The winner, too, easily tapped home by Ronaldo, was a complete capitulation by Germany’s defense.

Portugal was closer to the third goal than Germany was to the equalizer. It was only thanks to Marc-André ter Stegen’s brilliant double save in the second half that Germany was in it until the very end of the game.

Meanwhile, in the attack, Germany struggled to create many good chances in the first half. At least Portugal, too, struggled to produce much. The Portuguese only woke up after a brilliant moment by Wirtz that gave Germany the lead.

That goal highlighted why Liverpool is currently in advanced talks to sign Wirtz from Leverkusen. Those talks are progressing well, despite both sides still being significantly apart in the negotiations.

Be that as it may, Liverpool will also find out that games can’t be won by Wirtz alone. The problem is that it seemed to be Germany’s strategy. Aside from the 22-year-old, Germany lacked brilliant moments, or rather, Wirtz’s congenial partner and one-on-one specialist, Jamal Musiala.

“The key is that we have to give 100%,” Nagelsmann said when asked about Germany’s depth. “When we do that, we are better even. But if we don’t take on one-on-one situations all the time, then we would lose to an amateur team. If players don’t give everything, then you will struggle against top nations. We didn’t give 100%. That’s why we didn’t win.”

So, what then is the major takeaway from this game? While Germany has closed the gap to the top nations, there are still some significant weaknesses in Nagelsmann’s squad. The backline at times lacks speed and depth beyond Rüdiger and Tah. In the attack, promising players are coming, but without Musiala, this team lacks the special extra.

Furthermore, certain players have also highlighted that their time in the national team might have come to an end. Leroy Sané was industrious in the first half, but his inability to shoot with both feet hurt him and his team overall. Serge Gnabry came on in the second half and failed to impress. Finally, Niclas Füllkrug had zero impact.

In other words, losing this Nations League semifinal isn’t the end of the world. But only if Nagelsmann draws the correct conclusions from the game.