Van der Wiel re-lives Ronaldo nightmare

Netherlands defender Gregory van der Wiel says he found it ‘impossible’ to mark Cristiano Ronaldo during his team’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal.

Ajax fullback Van der Wiel was given a torrid time by the Real Madrid star, who netted both of Portugal’s goals in the final round of Group B matches at Euro 2012.

It was the Netherlands’ third defeat from three outings at the tournament, and confirmed their premature exit from proceedings in Poland and Ukraine.

“I had played against Ronaldo three times before, so it was no surprise what he did today,” Van der Wiel told Goal.com.

“But it really is impossible to mark him when he plays this well.

“The truth is that I didn’t have a good tournament, I have to admit, but it not is all my fault. I could never play my attacking style. I was unmarked several times but my team-mates never passed the ball to me.”

Van der Wiel, 24, has been capped 35 times by Netherlands.