"Will never forget this cameo", "Guy's a machine" - Fans praise Portugal star as Cristiano Ronaldo's side defeat Germany in Nations League S/F

Fans waxed lyrical about Francisco Conceicao for his performance in the UEFA Nations League semi-final match between Germany and Portugal on Wednesday (June 4). The 22-year-old produced a man-of-the-match cameo in the 32 minutes he spent on the pitch as Seleção das Quinas won 2-1 to seal their spot in the final of the competition.

After kickoff was delayed by 10 minutes due to the inclement weather in Munich, both teams began the match with clear intent, each eager to assert their dominance from the outset. Leon Goretzka forced Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa into a save just four minutes in before Cristiano Ronaldo’s tame effort in the seventh minute was comfortably saved by Germany goalkeeper Ter Stegen.

Although Die Mannschaft had more ball possession, the end-to-end first 45 minutes ended in a goalless stalemate. Germany came into the second half with more determination, and their strong start was duly rewarded two minutes after the break. Joshua Kimmich’s pass into Portugal’s box found Florian Wirtz, who directed a clinical header into the bottom corner.

Francisco Conceicao came on from the bench before the hour mark, and the winger turned out to be a super sub as he found the equalizer five minutes after he was introduced. The game was turned on its head a few minutes later as Cristiano Ronaldo tapped home from close range.

Portugal held on to their lead and eventually secured the victory, beating Germany for the first time in 25 years. Despite not starting the game, Conceicao won the MOTM award for his performance. He registered a passing accuracy of 92% (22/24), registered two shots on target, and received a rating of 7.4 as per Sofascore.

After the match, fans took to X to laud his performance, with one writing:

"Bro I will never forget this Conceicao cameo what the hell am I even watching."

Another tweeted:

"Fr guys a machine."

"Conceição…. that is what you call a decision making sub straight away impact, direct and dynamic with the intelligence after the goal to kill the game tempo," @TijanWrites wrote.

"Conceicao is a fantastic player, he always makes the difference. Should be picked up by a top team this summer," @ESudorgin added.

"Conceicao? that performance won’t go unnoticed," @n0zinga chimed in.

"Conceicao needs a better team 😤🔥," @DeBee_papa suggested.

Bernardo Silva on Portugal’s 2-1 win against Germany

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo expressed delight at his side’s 2-1 win over Germany. He said the victory was important and admitted that the Germans are a very strong side.

He told RTP 3 (via Ojogo.pt):

"It's very important. We expected a very difficult game, against a team that is historically very strong, especially at home. We knew they would come out strong, pressing with a lot of energy. We had a chance in the first half when we missed the final pass, but we improved on that in the second half. We improved in the second half, not everything was perfect, but it was a good performance by Portugal. It's always difficult to concede a goal at the beginning of the second half, even if the goal is offside and the referee probably doesn't know the rules of football. But the team showed a lot of character, a lot of personality to turn the game around."

Portugal will face the winners of the Spain vs. France game in the final.