The Cristiano Ronaldo relevance saga prolongs with Nations League goals

In the mayhem of celebrations, Cristiano Ronaldo pretended to collapse onto the ground, as though the Nations League trophy was too heavy for him to bear.

- GNS News Agency

He wept incessantly, rained kisses on the silverware and lost himself in the sweaty embrace of his teammates, as confetti poured down. The triumph, beating European champions Spain in shootout, was an escape route from the mounting pressure to retire from the international stage, a personal benediction as much as a vindication that he still matters, to his team and the world. The equaliser, a quintessential strike of stealth, running in from behind into the near-perfect place to volley in a deflection from close range, changed his mood of the night. A forlorn figure until that moment, dispossessed moments ago in the heart of midfield, ponderous and petulant, a sculpted silhouette of inconsequence, the goal brought a smile back on his face. He twisted his head this way and that like a bobblehead doll and played the rest of the game in its afterglow. He didn’t even throw a stink eye when the manager substituted him in the 88th minute.