Euro 2012: Ronaldo Picked Up the Portuguese and Put Them in the Semifinals

Having silenced his critics after a great performance against Holland, Ronaldo was expected to come out ready to play against the Czech Republic.

For those who watched, he once again did not fail to impress. He took on defenders, played collectively, hit the post two times, tried a bicycle kick, scored again and even came back a few times!

Playing against a Czech Republic side that was cautious and very organized, it was tough in the first half for Ronaldo to really get involved, but as we know him, he somehow managed to get involved a few times.

His shot off the post in stoppage time of the first half sent a feeling of assurance to all his fans that somehow, someway, Ronaldo would get this done. The way he took that pass from Raul Meireles off his chest, flicked it to himself and hit the post again looked like the Ronaldo we've seen all season long at the Bernabeu.

This was the Ronaldo that the Portuguese have begged and searched for.

Although it's not the greatest thing that it took the 79th minute to show up, every Portuguese fan is appreciative of what he has brought to his country. He is a national symbol, and he is finally earning his status in the Portuguese team.

Although the first half wasn't all that pleasant for Portugal, they managed to hang in there and keep things together.

As it has been said for years, true champions are able to adjust and grind out wins. Today, Portugal knew they didn't do well in the first half, but they kept compact in the back and kept picking away. In the second half they made adjustments, and they were finally able to play with a higher tempo and cause problems for the Czech's who were on the back foot for majority of the second half.

If not for Petr Cech, the result could have been more favorable for the Portuguese.

What are the Portugal's expectations now?

Portugal was drawn into the "Group of Death" (Group B), and not many people expected or even believed they would make it out of the group.

Going up against a German team that has an incredible amount of potential, a Dutch side that lost to Spain in the World Cup final and a Denmark squad who troubled them in qualifying, things wouldn't be easy.

Now we skip ahead and Portugal is in the semifinals, waiting to see who they will play. With Spain and France being the possible opponents, Portugal will remain confident and highly motivated regardless.

The downfall for Portugal will be their recent memories of playing the French as they don't tend to get the best of Les Bleus. In regards to Spain, Portugal defeated the defending European and World Cup champions at the Estadio da Luz in a friendly by a score line of 4-0. While it was just a friendly, the Portuguese will probably match up better against the Spanish, but their style of play can be very frustrating.

After booking their place in the semifinals, Paulo Bento said that they would now have to look to make it to the finals. While you must go game by game, the way Portugal has played the last two matches, and the way Ronaldo has performed, it is not out of this world to think Portugal could potentially make it to the final.

Will Ronaldo's performances help guide the Portuguese to another final after losing their last one in Euro 2004? Only time will tell, but the Portuguese are beginning to believe, and a very confident team is out to finally claim the silverware that has avoided them for so long.

@MikeGoncalves10