Marvellous hat-trick from Ronaldo cruises Portugal to 3-1 win over Switzerland

Cristiano Ronaldo's timely hat-trick helped Portugal defeat Switzerland 3-1 on Wednesday to enter the finals of the Nations League. Ronaldo was seen in spectacular form throughout the match and his individual brilliance stood out as Portugal raced into the finals of the Nations League.

The Juventus star won a free-kick thanks to a challenge from Swiss Kevin Mbabu, and he fired the ball past a messy wall created by Switzerland into the bottom-right corner beyond the static goalkeeper Yann Sommer to give Portugal a lead. However, it just took Switzerland 12 minutes to get the equaliser as Ricardo Rodriguez scored after a highly controversial penalty kick was awarded to Portugal, but video review canceled out the penalty and Switzerland was handed out a spot kick.

Portugal suffered a blow when their star player Pepe went off with an arm injury, and Switzerland began to look like they would go away with a victory, as Shaqiri caused problems in Portugal's ranks. But Ronaldo came to his side's aid when it mattered the most. He struck his second goal with a low first-time finish from a Silva cut-back, and he added a third in the 90th minute, giving Portugal a 3-1 victory.

England and Netherlands will take on each other on June 6 in the next semi-final to decide who will play Portugal in the finals. UEFA created the Nations League to give European teams more meaningful games and reduce the number of friendlies. 

(With inputs from agencies.)