Sportsmail came in for a bit of flak over the past two weeks for hyping up Portugal's crucial World Cup play-off against Sweden solely as a head-to-head between Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Well, we were hardly proved wrong!

World class: Cristiano Ronaldo shone for Portugal, while it was frustration for Zlatan Ibrahimovic (below)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic takes off the captain's armband

An incredible battle between the two, Ronaldo almost single-handedly dragged Portugal to Brazil with a hat-trick that is surely destined to go down in football folklore, despite an explosive four minutes and two goals from his Sweden counterpart.

It's a tragedy that both of these heavyweights won't be gracing next summer's festival in Brazil, but the Real Madrid man's sublime performance eventually won the night.

Here's the lowdown on each of the stars' performances.

Could he step up when it counted?

Ronaldo: Are you kidding? Having gone close in the first half, Ronaldo seemingly put the tie out of Sweden's reach ten minutes after the break with a deadly finish from a superb Joao Moutinho through ball.

At least, that should have put it out of Sweden's reach - Ibrahimovic, not to be outdone, hit back with two goals of his own, partly due to a Portugal capitulation.

Man on a mission: Ronaldo (left) drove through the heart of the Swedish defence to net a hat-trick

That was when a nation needed him most, and Ronaldo delivered. Within seven minutes of the Swede's second goal, the Real man had hit twice and sent Portugal to the World Cup.

Ronaldo did what all iconic, era-defining players do and dragged his team through when they needed him most. 

Ibrahimovic: Just as if it was looking like a disappointing evening for the PSG hitman, 'Ibra' breathed a huge gust of wind into the tie by taking advantage of sloppy play from the Portuguese and netting twice.

Overpowering Bruno Alves to score the first was a classic Zlatan show of strength, while to keep a cool head and perfectly place a free-kick to put Sweden ahead 2-1 on the night is to his immense credit.

It may have ultimately ended in heartbreak and put paid to the idea of probably a final World Cup for him but in just four minutes, Ibrahimovic delivered.

In the mix: Ibrahimovic was the fulcrum of Sweden's attacking play, going past Fabio Coentrao

Attitude

Ronaldo: We saw an early glimpse of the Real Madrid man getting frustrated with his team-mates as he broke past Martin Olsson and attempted to cross, only to find no-one was in the box. The frustration rolled over into a fairly comical dive on the half-hour mark, just before he headed over the bar from close-range.

When he scored, however, he raised his arms and shouted in an outpouring of emotion, kicking the rest of his night into gear.

This was Ronaldo at his absolute best, seemingly unstoppable in his driving towards goal during the second half, and his celebration of the second goal, pointing towards the ground in defiance showed a concoction of arrogance and class that he has mastered.

This is the moment: Ronaldo is ecstatic after his second goal, sending Portugal close to being through

Ibrahimovic: Sweden struggled to make an attacking impact in the first half, but anything they did create came through their star man. He was happy to lay off opportunites for his team-mates, and in fact could have done with being a little bit more selfish.

Like Ronaldo, he stepped up in gear in the second half. In classic Ibrahimovic style, he strutted around the penalty area as if he owned it for the opener, and there was no doubt over who was going to take that free-kick to give Sweden the lead.

The way simply walked back to the half-way line like a man possessed after his second goal said everything about his intense focus and determination.

The stats

Ronaldo: The night was all about being clinical for the Real Madrid man. Look at his heat map compared to Ibrahimovic's - Ronaldo's doesn't have the look of a man who scored a hat-trick.

However, it was in keeping with the game, with Portugal having just 38.2 per cent of the ball. Ronaldo's three goals out of four shots on target tell the story.

Portugal were happy to sit behind the ball and counter attack to devastating effect - with someone like Ronaldo in the team, this is an immense threat on every attack.

Ibrahimovic: The respective passing statistics of Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo tells all about the two sides.

Zlatan's total of 50 dwarfs Ronaldo's 18 - and the Sweden man's accuracy of 88 per cent, with 84.4 per cent in Portugal's half, shows just how instrumental he was to Sweden's build-up play.

Sweden's build-up play without real end product was the story of the game, however, and Ibrahimovic's two goals from two shots on target say it all on taking hold of his side's play like top players can.