Netherlands, Portugal level 1-1 at halftime

Published Jun. 17, 2012 4:32 p.m. ET

foxsports

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal at the European Championship to pull Portugal level with the Netherlands 1-1 at halftime Sunday.

Rafael van der Vaart put the Dutch ahead in the 11th minute with a left-foot shot from the edge of the area that curled just inside the right post.

But Portugal fought back with Ronaldo clipping the post with a low drive in the 16th before slotting the ball past Maarten Stekelenburg from short range in the 28th.

With a quarterfinal place at stake, the two teams provided a gripping display of attacking football.

The Netherlands has beaten Portugal only once in their past 10 meetings.