Blast from the past: poor Portugal saved by Ronaldo magic in 3-2 win versus Armenia | OneFootball

“In a disjointed and comprehensively underwhelming performance, the Seleção maintained their position atop their Euro 2016 qualifying group with a 3-2 victory over a plucky Armenia team that needed to win to continue their hopes of qualification…”

So began Nathan Motz’s match report on PortuGOAL of Armenia 2-3 Portugal in June 2015 as the Seleção took another step towards qualifying for Euro 2016 under new manager Fernando Santos.

It is interesting to read the less-than-complimentary comments regarding the Seleção who would lift their maiden major trophy on that magical night in Paris just one year after this match.

Commenter Oliver, however, was remarkably prescient: “Most important thing is 3 points--and we keep getting them. That's big. It may just be that Santos’ Greek style is what will get us farthest. If that’s the case, I will take it…”

This match was also a perfect example of how a peak Cristiano Ronaldo would bail Portugal out time and time again when the team was not clicking. The front cover of A Bola the next day would focus on the national team captain with the simple headline, SUPERB.

Post-match quotes from Fábio Coentrão – “Ronaldo is the greatest of all time” – and Nani “He’s a goal machine” – also made the cover, with another sub-headline pointing out that CR7 had finished the 2014/15 season with 66 goals!

Fernando Santos would famously go on to guide Portugal to glory at the 2016 European Championship, with several youngsters playing a key role in France, such as Raphaël Guerreiro, Renato Sanches and João Mário, but during qualification the coach relied heavily on experienced performers.

Ricardo Carvalho was one of the most highly rated Portugal players against Armenia at the ripe old age of 37, with Bruno Alves (33), Eliseu (31), Tiago (34), Danny (31) and José Fonte (31) also seeing the pitch. Ronaldo himself had also turned 30, although as the following decade has proved, his ageing process is different to other mere mortals.

To read the Armenia 2-3 match report click here. Portugal play Armenia in Yerevan on Saturday in their first qualifying match for World Cup 2026.