In his 220 game for Portugal 

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It was a moment of brilliance for Cristiano Ronaldo. With the game in a deadlock at 1-1 between Germany and Portugal, a deep pass by Nuno Mendes found the 40-year-old Al-Nassr striker open in the box, and Ronaldo easily tapped the ball home. That goal would turn out to be the winner for Portugal in the UEFA Nations League semifinal against Germany (2-1) at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

A result that will provide some satisfaction for Ronaldo. In his fifth match against Germany, the Portuguese superstar has finally secured his first win against the four-time World Cup winners. For Portugal, this was the first win against Die Nationalmannschaft since 2000 and the first win in Germany since 1985. Dating back to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Ronaldo’s record against Die Nationalmannschaft has been horrific.

With Ronaldo, Portugal lost 3-1 at third place final at the 2006 World Cup, then 3-2 at the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, next came a 1-0 defeat at Euro 2012 in Ukraine, then a 4-0 defeat at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil before finally losing 4-2 to Germany at Euro 2020. That demon has now been exercised. “It was a historic result,” Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said after the game. “It has been 25 years since we have beaten Germany, so it was a huge barrier to overcome, especially after going down 1-0.”

Historic win for Portugal in Germany – How did Martinez beat Nagelsmann’s team?

“Our substitutions gave us control,” Martinez said. “We improved our team through substitutions, which is very hard at this level. On the counterattack, we were very strong.” That was certainly the case. While Julian Nagelsmann got his substitutions wrong after taking the lead, Martinez got his spot on. Portugal suddenly had control and managed to grind down Germany, culminating in the winner by Ronaldo.

Indeed, it was fitting that Ronaldo was the one to end Portugal’s terrible run against the Germans. “Cristiano is an example of someone who wants to produce constantly,” Martinez said. “It is contagious. He is hungry and wants to play for the national team. He doesn’t get up to break records. He gets up every morning to get better. And that is how he breaks records. He has an unbelievable hunger. You look at Joshua Kimmich, who reached his 100th game for Germany—it is an incredible milestone, but Ronaldo has more than twice that.” That’s true, Ronaldo has now played 220 games for Portugal, and his 137th goal has ended his country’s bad run against Germany.