PARIS — Two goals, a two-hour drive apart, orchestrated by two world class players who continue to carry their teams at Euro 2016.
How far can Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale guide Portugal and Wales, respectively? The talent around them has proven substandard, to say the least.
The football inside Parc des Princes, where Wales topped Northern Ireland 1-0 Saturday night, was of the lowest quality we’ve seen at this tournament.
Completed passes were at a premium in arguably the most drab fixture we’ve ever seen at a modern European Championship.
Bale took it upon himself midway through the second half to whip in a world class cross that saw Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley put it into his own goal.
It was nothing new for Bale, who continues to go about it alone. It’s becoming quite clear to everyone watching this competition that he’s one of the few players at this tournament capable of winning a game on his own.
Looking back over this Euro, Bale’s free kicks against Slovakia and England opened the scoring in those fixtures before his game-clincher against Russia sealed it. He’s literally been a one-man show.
It didn’t matter that Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill asked his players to double- and triple-team Bale whenever he was on the ball. Bale has shown throughout this tournament he’s capable of carrying a pedestrian Welsh side deep into this competition.
Like any world class attacker, he needed just one moment to exploit the space that opened up along the left edge of the area before providing the exquisite service that produced the only moment that mattered in a game that featured few opportunities.
“It was an amazing experience, one I won’t forget,” Bale said of advancing. “Our ambition is to keep fighting and keep trying to win every game we play. We’ll keep trying to do that.”
To the east of here in Lens, the two teams on display weren’t much better. Billed as the best matchup of the second round, Portugal-Croatia was void of goal-scoring chances and rhythm.
In similar fashion, though, the best player on the pitch popped up after an otherwise
quiet 90 minutes. Since being lambasted following a Matchday 1 draw with Iceland, Ronaldo has been magnificent.
He’s single-handedly kept Portugal in this competition. That trend continued Saturday night when he started the play that led to Ricardo Quaresma’s extra-time tally in a 1-0 win over dark horse Croatia.
Ronaldo touched the ball twice in the game-defining sequence — once near his own penalty before producing the shot that sat up for Quaresma to score into an open goal with minutes remaining.
He won’t receive credit for anything other than having the touch before the finish, but Ronaldo’s work rate once again exemplified how much he wants to get his side to another European final.
That Portugal have drawn a navigable path to the semifinals made Saturday night’s victory all the more crucial. They won’t face a better side en route the July 10 final.
“Sometimes we have to be pragmatic in order to win,” Portugal manager Fernando Santos said. “For the fans and the analysts and the pundits, sometimes we’d like to play pretty, but that’s not always how you win tournaments.”
They’ll have to be sharper to unlock Poland in the quarter-finals later this week. The Poles have proven to be one of the best defensive sides at this tournament, conceding just once in four fixtures, including Saturday’s win over Switzerland.
The Welsh, meanwhile, won’t face a side with less attacking talent than Northern Ireland, who produced just four shots on target through its final two matches before exiting the Euros.
Still, the fact Wales needed Bale to once again provide the magic has to be a concern considering they could meet Belgium in their next game.
“I can’t choose (who we’ll face),” Bale said post-game. “One of them (Belgium or Hungary) has to win. We’ve got one or the other. Hungary have been very good this tournament.
“We know a bit more about Belgium. We had them in our qualifying group. Either way, it’s going to be difficult. You don’t get to the quarter-finals of a major tournament by luck. No matter who we get we know it’s going to be a difficult game and we’ll be ready for it.”
And by we, he means him. Like his Real Madrid teammate, Bale is the one player who gives his team hope of advancement.
As soon as one or both of them don’t turn up, their respective teams will stop advancing.
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