Portugal vs Netherlands .. Ronaldo's conflict Van Dyck breaks the pessimism of European nations

World football

When the European Football Confederation unveiled the detailed plans of the League of Nations more than four years ago, there was pessimism among many over whether the new tournament would be more than a series of important friendly matches.

Even within the European Football Federation headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, some have questioned whether the tournament will attract the attention of the game community, but on Sunday, the first edition of the tournament will end with a near perfect match for what the European Football Federation had imagined.

There is also the individual confrontation between Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best strikers in the game, and Virgil van Dijk, the greatest defender of modern football, and ended up with the European Football Union in a final match that meets all promises.

Of course, the League of Nations is a minor tournament and does not have the status of the European Championship every four years, but the tournament system ensures that the teams must achieve remarkable results in order to reach the final.

The use of the classification system in the composition of groups means that there is no easy path to the final for any team.

The Dutch team overcame a group that included Germany and France before defeating England in the semi-finals in Guimaraes on Thursday.

Portugal did not have the same difficulty but did not lose in a group that included Italy and Poland and then beat Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday.

Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Switzerland's hard-fought captain Sheridan Shakiri, while one of the country's most promising talents, Dutch midfielder Ferencé de Young, was crowned by his country's victory over England after an extra time.

The debate about the video-conferencing system will continue, but it certainly makes a lot of excitement.

The Portuguese have recovered from Ronaldo's formidable ability to end the attacks but England could not go beyond the great goal of Jesse Lenggard in the 83rd minute that could have given Gareth Southgate a 2-1 win.

The focus now is on Ronaldo and Van Dyck's clash on Sunday, and the stark statistic that no one has been able to dodge Dutch defender this season.

The 34-year-old Ronaldo may no longer have the speed he is known for but will surely hear of trying to be the top player of Liverpool this season.

Jose Fonte, who played alongside Van Dyck in Southampton, believes the Juventus striker can rise to the challenge.

"It's not easy to get past Van Dyck, but no one is invincible, it's amazing statistics, is not it, if there's someone who can beat him, certainly Cristiano," he said.

Even if his individual skills do not succeed in giving him the lead, Ronaldo will certainly consider scoring in front of a defense led by a player nominated for the World Player of the Year award as an individual challenge.

"I'm still in good shape even though I'm 34," Ronaldo said last week. "The most important thing is your mind, feel the urge and be happy. I think I still have a lot to give."

Unsurprisingly, Van Dijk has played down the importance of talking about Ronaldo, the world's best player, five times.

"We are facing Portugal, not Cristiano Ronaldo, they have a very good team and it will be a very difficult game, so we will prepare well and see," the Dutch captain said.

(tagsToTranslate) Portugal v Netherlands (t) European (t) European Union (t) Portugal (t) Netherlands