Munich, 5 June 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner after Francisco Conceicao emulated his father as Portugal ended their long curse against hosts Germany with a 2-1 comeback victory on Wednesday for a place in the Nations League final.

Man of the Match Conceicao with a superb curling shot in the 63rd and Ronaldo's tap-in five minutes later reversed Germany's 48th minute lead from a header by Liverpool target Florian Wirtz.

It was the 137th national team goal for the 40-year-old Ronaldo in his 220th cap, both figures being world records.

Portuguse delight

Portugal previously last beat Germany 25 years ago at Euro 2000 - 3-0 from a hat-trick by Conceicao's father, Sergio Conceicao. They then lost five times in a row against them, with Ronaldo featuring in all of them.

Winners of the inaugural Nations League in 2019, Portugal advanced into Sunday's final in the same Munich arena which will be a contest for a second title because they will face either 2021 winners France or 2023 champions Spain.

"Conceding wasn't easy but we showed a lot of character," midfielder Bernardo Silva told streaming portal DAZN, adding "hopefully to win" the final but warning that "France and Spain have a lot of quality."

Looking at Ronaldo, he praised "his ambition to keep going. We are happy to have him with us."

Coach Roberto Martinez hailed his team's "tactical flexibility" as he said: "I never felt Germany had control. It is one of the games where you feel really proud as a coach."

German revival stalls

Germany, who lacked in many aspects, will play for third place in Stuttgart on Sunday as their dream of a first title since the 2017 Confederations Cup ended with a first defeat since the Euro 2024 quarter-finals against eventual champions Spain.

"We were not good enough over 90 minutes to win this game. We didn't have enough courage and weren't clean enough. A lot more would have been possible," said captain Joshua Kimmich, who earned his 100th cap.

"We have to learn our lessons and try to win on Sunday," Kimmich said.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann said: "We weren't as ruthless as in previous games. We were not active after scoring, lost many balls."