Denis Doyle - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo once again played hero for Portugal, scoring three goals to send his country to the final of the new competition.
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored two late goals on Wednesday to complete a hat trick and send Portugal through to the UEFA Nations League final.
- It was the seventh international hat trick of Ronaldo's career.
- Portugal will meet the winner of Thursday's match between England and the Netherlands in the Nations League final on June 9.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Cristiano Ronaldo played hero for Portugal once again on Wednesday against Switzerland, netting the seventh international hat trick of his career to send his country through to the UEFA Nations League final.
Ronaldo opened the scoring for the match in the 25th minute, hitting a fierce strike off of a free kick to give Portugal an early 1-0 lead.
Switzerland would find an equalizer in the second half, leaving the game tied heading into its final minutes.
As the game teetered towards extra time, Ronaldo broke through once again, punching in a one-strike finish on a beautiful ball from Bernando Silva to give Portugal a 2-1 lead that would prove good enough to win.
Just two minutes later and with the game nearly in hand, Ronaldo completed his hat trick with a phenomenal individual attack at the goal.
Ronaldo is no stranger to carrying his countrymen, having scored a similarly impressive hat trick at the 2018 World Cup to secure a hard-fought draw against Spain during the group stage of the tournament.
Portugal will meet the winner of Thursday's match between England and the Netherlands in the Nations League final on June 9.
- Read more from Tyler Lauletta:
Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a bicycle-kick goal so amazing he even impressed himself
Newly crowned heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. really wants Snickers to sponsor him
People are loving this optical-illusion photo that makes Stephen Curry look tiny