The shrewd plan that beat Wales and put Portugal in the Euro 2016 final

In the end, heroics were undone by pragmatism.

Wales and its dreams and noble commitment to playing soccer the right way were kept out of the Euro final by Portugal, a team so cynical in its zeal to get results it had somehow gotten this far without winning any of their five games in regulation.

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Wales had ideals. But Portugal had a plan.

The Portuguese, in their fourth semifinals in the last five European Championships, knew that trying to simply outclass the Welsh in an open game was dangerous. They had the players, certainly, but then so did Belgium. And the Belgians had been embarrassed in the quarterfinals, when they gave away an early lead to Wales’s surgical counterattacks and spells of midfield possession in a 3-1 loss. Portugal would not be making that mistake on Wednesday.

Rather, the Portuguese would keep the ball, but mostly far away from goal. They would pelt balls forward at Cristiano Ronaldo, hoping their captain and four-time World Player of the Year would score on a header or a free kick. But they would keep their shape and refuse to venture out very far. They would be careful. They would, you might argue, play a cowardly game to counteract the fearless Welsh, the tournament’s sensations with their unexpected energy and cunning and harmony.

And that’s how Portugal would win 2-0 and forge a path to Sunday’s final against the winner of Thursday’s semifinal of host France against Germany.

Sure, the Welsh players and fans would sing their anthem with the greater conviction and resonance. And Wales secured the adoration of the neutral fan – and a load of English people who had to settle for success by a neighboring country in the absence of any of their own, again. Once Iceland went out against France in a 5-2 quarterfinals dismantling, they were the tournament’s darlings. And they would sing loudly and proudly as the seconds ticked down on their greatest run at a major tournament ever.

(In its only other appearance at a World Cup or Euro, Wales had reached the quarterfinals of the 1958 edition of the World Cup in Sweden.)

But if anybody was going to win this game, it always looked more likely to be Portugal. Just 12 minutes in, Ronaldo was head-locked by a defender as he went up for a header and probably merited the penalty he didn’t get – he surely hadn’t helped his own case by incessantly lobbying the referee for calls up to that point.

Save for a Ronaldo header and a long Gareth Bale shot, the first half was soul crushingly uneventful – by Portugal’s design. It wasn’t a noble way to win, exactly. But Portugal planned to win this game by avoiding risk and relying on Ronaldo. That was the plan, and they were sticking to it.

And early on in the second half, it all paid off. On a short corner set piece, Ronaldo rose way high over James Chester and hammered home the winning header. That tied Michel Platini for the all-time lead in Euro goals, with his ninth.

Then, a few minutes later, Nani redirected a low Ronaldo shot with a slide, from a position that was barely onside. And that, really, was that.

Portugal sat in. Without Aaron Ramsey, who was suspended for the unforgivable offense of committing two yellow-carded fouls over the span of five games, the Welsh couldn’t circulate the ball fast enough or well enough to penetrate the Portuguese lines, even without defensive anchor Pepe – also suspended.

If anything, Portugal came closer to getting a third when Joao Mario lashed a rebound just wide from a long Nani shot. Or when a Danilo shot almost skittered under Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and over the line. Some long shots from Bale made Portuguese keeper Rui Patricio somewhat uneasy but didn’t trouble him significantly.

Eventually, the final whistle went and Bale crouched in agony. Ronaldo beamed and embraced his teammates. The Portuguese had reached the final again, like on their home soil in 2004, when they were upset by Greece.

The Welsh fans, joining up in a churning sea of red, took over entire sections of the stadium and kept on signing. But they had met their end to a team that better understood how to win these kinds of games.

Watching Portugal play soccer is seldom pretty, no matter how much bronzer or hairspray Ronaldo employs. Its machinery churns on and on, spitting out results that aren’t any more watchable for their regularity.

But darn if it isn’t effective.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.