Final chance for Castrol EDGE Index hopefuls

Portugal are not in the UEFA EURO 2012 final, yet one of their number continues to lead the Castrol EDGE Index heading into Sunday's game in Kyiv. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has been atop the standings since the end of the group stage, following up his two-goal display versus the Netherlands with the winner against the Czech Republic in the last eight. In his team's penalty shoot-out loss to Spain, the Portugal captain maintained his record of having at least four shots on goal in each of the Selecção das Quinas' matches in Poland and Ukraine.

"I've felt good − the truth is I always have," said the Real Madrid CF forward of his performances. "With a lot of sacrifice from the team, from our players, we, and I, started to play better."

Spain – the team who denied Ronaldo a place in the final – have only conceded one goal at the EURO thanks in part to the ever-evolving nature of Gerard Piqué’s centre-back partnership with Sergio Ramos.

"We've been feeling better from match to match," said Piqué, who is third in the ranking, with Ramos eighth. "There was a lot of talk before the tournament because myself and Sergio Ramos haven't really played together before, and the relationship we had maybe wasn't the best, but we've been showing on the pitch that it's not like that."

To hear more from some of the Index's main protagonists, including Mario Balotelli, who rose 23 places to sixth following his double against Germany, watch the video above.