Ronaldo outclasses Ibrahimovic to qualify Portugal for World Cup

 

He is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and he isn't going to the World Cup.

The star striker was denied a chance to put his talents on display in Brazil next summer after Sweden lost 3-2 to Portugal on Tuesday night in the second leg of their UEFA playoff for World Cup qualification. The Swedes exit after a 4-2 aggregate loss.
Instead, it was Cristiano Ronaldo's stage. 

The Real Madrid winger put on a show for the ages, scoring a hat-trick in the second half to propel Portugal through to Brazil.
With a one-goal lead coming into the match, Portugal were allowed to sit back and play on the defensive a little more. Their problems on the pitch have rarely involved their defensive performance, so this played right into their hands.
Paulo Bento has his team well-drilled in the defensive third, so it's difficult for a team to break down Portugal, especially one centered around one player, as Sweden is with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Portugal did a great job of isolating the Paris Saint-Germain forward and denying him service up top. You can't keep the ball away from a player with Ibrahimovic's talent the entire game, but Pepe, Bruno Alves, Miguel Veloso and Co. were able to shadow Ibra and mark him out of the game, until the 68th minute.

Bento's team also broke well on the counter, which served to stifle the Swedish attack as well. Erik Hamren was afraid to get too open for fear of having Ronaldo break and bear down on goal.
Portugal had the best chances of the first half.  
In the 15th minute, they had a set piece in Sweden's half. Joao Moutinho was tasked with taking the free kick, and he delivered a great ball to Alves. The Fenerbahce centre-back headed it on goal, only to have Andreas Isaksson make a sprawling save.

On a counterattack in the 38th minute, Ronaldo created some space for himself. He chipped a great cross across the box to Hugo Almeida. Almeida could only head the ball into the side netting. It was a glorious chance, wasted by the Besiktas target man.
That was the best action from what was an otherwise drab first half, which the Portuguese dominated.

Going into the second half, Hamren knew he had to take some more chances for Sweden to try to find the breakthrough. He brought on Anders Svensson for Rasmus Elm and had his team open up more in the attack.
That decision led to Sweden's first chance of the game in the 49th minute.
Ibrahimovic got some space in the box and knocked it back across goal to Sebastian Larsson. The Sunderland midfielder hit it right at Rui Patricio, who made the save and ended the Swedish threat.
Shortly thereafter, Sweden were ripped apart on the counter.
Moutinho delivered a brilliant through ball to Ronaldo, who made a great run to get free in the Swedish half. He ran on goal and slotted a shot into the bottom right corner to put Portugal up 1-0 in the 50th minute.

However, Sweden, and more importantly, Zlatan, would not go quietly into the night.
Ibrahimovic tied the match with a header in the 68th minute.
It was still an uphill climb for Sweden, as they would have to score twice more if they wanted to progress by virtue of the away goals rule.
So many football supporters wanted to see Ronaldo vs. Ibrahimovic, and that's exactly what they got from this point forward.
Ibrahimovic put Sweden ahead 2-1 just four minutes later. His free kick found the bottom left corner. It wasn't the greatest free kick you'll ever see, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Not to be outdone, Ronaldo decided to end the tie with two more goals, finishing off his hat-trick. In a two-minute span, he got free on the counter twice and finally dropped the hammer on Sweden.
Portugal did a magnificent job of making the most of their counterattacks. The goals themselves were good, but the runs and passes leading up to the goals were arguably more impressive. Ronaldo did a great job of creating some space and losing his marker. In addition, Almeida and Moutinho both provided sublime passes that allowed the Madrid winger to run at goal.
The match would end 3-2, with Portugal booking their place in Brazil.
Naturally, most of the discussion centered on Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic.
Andy Murray wondered how the Ballon d'Or race might be affected.

culled from www.http://bleacherreport.com