Analysing Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Performance vs. Portugal

For roughly of 160 minutes of World Cup Qualifying soccer against Portugal, Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a non factor. He atoned for that in the second half of the second leg.

He and Cristiano Ronaldo put on a show for the ages.    

Ibrahimovic picked up a brace but was outdone by Ronaldo's hat-trick, as Portugal bested Sweden at Friends Arena, 3-2, to advance to the 2014 World Cup on the aggregate score of 4-2.

In the first leg, Ibrahimovic was barely noticeable. Being tracked by Portugal's Bruno Alves and Pepe, the world-class goalscorer was ineffective. In fact, as the Telegraph's Mark Ogden shares, he didn't take one step in the penalty area. 

It took a while on Wednesday, but Portugal's defense did not have as much success keeping Ibrahimovic under wraps. 

Portugal and Sweden played to a 0-0 tie in the first half. The action closely resembled the first leg in Portugal, as Ronaldo was getting some solid looks while Ibrahimovic was simply hoping to get a look. 

However, Ibrahimovic began finding more space to operate in the second half.

With Sweden cranking up the intensity to try to level the aggregate, Ronaldo broke free in the 50th minute for the game's first goal. This created a dire atmosphere for the home side. Ibrahimovic did not crack in the face of adversity. 

The 32-year-old fought off contact on an approaching corner from Kim Kallstrom in the 68th minute and netted a solid header into the side of the goal. 

This was a nice display of some of the talents that make Ibrahimovic special. At 6'3" he has the size and strength to handle contact. However, just as importantly, he has a wonderful feel for tracking the ball. 

He got into the perfect spot to receive the corner and then used his body control to place an accurate header despite all of the contact. 

It was a quality score, and it gave Sweden hope. 

He doubled down on that hope just four minutes later with this sublime free-kick: 

GIF Credit: Bleacher Report

There was a tiny window on this shot. I would have had a hard time sinking a five-foot putt through that hole, and Ibrahimovic blasted this hooking shot past defenders right through it. 

At that moment, Sweden was tied on aggregate but still in a losing situation at a disadvantage in away goals. The Swedes would not get any closer. 

Ronaldo took over the game and stole the lion's share of the headlines, and even Ibrahimovic had to applaud Ronaldo's second:

Still, although it did come in a losing performance, Ibrahimovic's effort was heroic enough that it won't be forgotten anytime soon. 

I wouldn't expect this to ease his pain of missing out on the World Cup, but at least he can be content with his magnificent performance.