Just when Cristiano Ronaldo looked to be heading out of the World Cup, he produced the moment of magic which the world had been waiting for.
Five minutes into stoppage time in the searing heat of Manaus, with Portugal trailing 2-1 and in the departure lounge ready for the flight home, a stunning Ronaldo cross was converted by substitute Varela to deny the United States a place in the second round and keep Portugal alive.
It will require a big victory against Ghana in Brasilia on Thursday, and a victor in a Germany-USA game in which both teams need only a draw to progress, but Portugal came back from the dead in the Amazon.
The challenge for Ronaldo now is to prove he deserves to stick around for a while longer in Brazil by carrying his team to victory against Ghana.
In contrast to the Americans, whose dramatic victory over Ghana had given Jurgen Klinsmann’s team the perfect start to Group G, Portugal went into this fixture in disarray after being routed 4-0 by Germany in Salvador.
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