On Reflection: Real Madrid stars’ selfless quests, the folly of post-Euros transfers

Two of the supposed ‘one-man teams’ have made it to the semi-finals, and the Santiago Bernabeu dressing-room could be an interesting place in pre-season. The relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale has been closely scrutinised ever since the Welshman moved to Spain three years ago, and it will be tested further whatever happens in Wednesday’s semi-final.

That both have contributed hugely to the presence of Portugal and Wales in the last four is undoubted, though their quarter-final roles were notable for different reasons. Bale was not Wales’s outstanding player against Belgium, and was happy to play second fiddle to Aaron Ramsey and the goalscorers Ashley Williams, Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Vokes.

Yet coach Chris Coleman has made no secret that Bale is no ordinary player, but has got the best out of him to work for the good of the team. “He knows he’s the king and I think he likes it, and enjoys what is needed from him,” Coleman told Chris Wathan in his excellent book on Wales’s rise, Stronger Together. “He doesn’t abuse it, but he thrives on it. He knows we can’t get where we want to be without him being who he is. I think he likes that feeling and accepts that responsibility. He’s not weighed down by it, he’s lifted by it.”

You can’t say the same for Ronaldo, who cut a frustrated figure against Poland (and Iceland, and Austria). When the penalty shoot-out arrived in the quarter-final, it was a surprise to see Ronaldo change his shooting order from fifth – the position he took for Real Madrid in scoring the Champions League final-winning spot-kick – to first. The decision worked: Ronaldo scored, Portugal took the lead in the shoot-out and never lost it.

Ronaldo also told Joao Moutinho, who was feeling a leg injury (apparently unrelated to him missing a penalty in the 2012 semi-final) that he would be taking a penalty and would score it.

The sub-plot of the semi-final features these two iconic players, Madrid team-mates who have put their national teams first. But one of them won't be happy soon.

How many players get moves on the back of performances at major tournaments? There are very few secrets in European football these days, although there is always the odd exception: in France, Ragnar Sigurdsson (Krasnodar) and Hal Robson-Kanu (no club) can expect a change of scene in the coming months. A study conducted by FIFA TMS showed that the price of players of certain nationalities increase depending on the national team’s tournament performance. This was noticeable with Costa Rican players after the last World Cup.

So, will we see the value of Welsh and Icelandic players go through the roof later in this transfer window? It’s possible, though one clear lesson from this round is that it pays to get your summer business done before the tournament.

Renato Sanches and Granit Xhaka (at least until he missed a penalty) will have made their new coaches delighted at their masterful midfield displays. Others, like Jonas Hector, Emmanuele Giaccherini and James Chester, have done their chances of a move this summer the world of good, even if they are not looking for one. And Michy Batshuayi nabbed a move to Chelsea within days of scoring with his first touch as a sub. For coaches, though, getting your transfer business done early can save millions…

Uefa changed the disciplinary system regarding bookings being wiped off the slate to avoid the supposed injustice of players being suspended for the final. Instead there is now a bottle-neck of suspended players in the semi-final, among them William Carvalho, Mats Hummels, Ben Davies and Aaron Ramsey. There were 45 players going into the last four games on a yellow card, with the punishment of picking up two yellows in five games a tough one to take. But it will mean that only a red card in the semi-final will rule out a player from appearing in the final. So we may complain about it now, but we won’t on Friday.

The greatest underdog story of the tournament is over, but Iceland leave France with their heads held high. But the team, whose fans, players and coaches became the story of this tournament, are no one-off. They almost qualified for the 2014 World Cup, losing to Croatia in a play-off, and given their 2018 World Cup group contains Croatia, Turkey, Ukraine and Finland, have every chance of making it to Russia in two years. More importantly, they made friends across the world and allowed us to forget, temporarily, about the business and cynicism of the football world. “We are disappointed but incredibly proud,” said captain Arnor Gunarsson after the game.

There was a similar reaction from the Italy players after their shoot-out loss to Germany. Every player was available for interview after the game, and Andrea Barzagli and Gigi Buffon were in tears (Buffon’s interview even made TV studio guest Arrigo Sacchi well up). The next day, as Buffon made his way to the team coach to go home, how did he greet Italian fans waiting outside the hotel? By giving them a massive bear-hug.

To even mention England’s post-defeat behaviour in the same breath is painful: two senior players gave apologetic interviews and the coach read out a statement and was then clearly unhappy to speak at a press conference the following day. Iceland and Italy have developed a beautiful bond with their fans. England has a very long way to go.