His two second-half goals were equally brilliant as he became the first player to score in four EURO finals. Ronaldo also now jumps ahead of Lillian Thuram and Edwin Van Der Sar as the player with the most appearances in the European Championships.
Immediately after the interval Portugal were pegged back again when Balázs Dzsudzsák’s free-kick took a wicked deflection that Patrício could do nothing about.
Minutes later the moment all Portuguese fans had been waiting so long for came when Cristiano Ronaldo got his first goal.
João Mário found space on the right-hand side, the kind of space he has thrived in this season, and his low cross was magically flicked in by Ronaldo, marking his record-breaking appearance with a record-breaking goal at last.
Just five minutes later it was déjà vu for Portugal when it was another Dzsudzsák deflected goal that put Hungary in the lead for a third time. On this occasion the Portugal defence was at fault as they failed to get close to the Hungarian on the edge of the area.
The goal forced Fernando Santos into a change with Ricardo Quaresma coming on for André Gomes.
The Portugal coach’s change immediately paid dividends when Quaresma’s cross found the head of Cristiano Ronaldo to make it 3-3. This was by far the most entertaining game of the tournament with opportunities galore at both ends.
Third place pits Portugal against the impressive Croatian team.
They will still need to improve dramatically but there are signs that they are improving, even if it is only in the attacking end of the pitch.