Cristiano Ronaldo no longer shows too much emotion after Portugal was eliminated from the quarter-finals of EURO 2024 by France.
The Portuguese team stopped in the quarter-finals of EURO 2024. After a 0-0 draw with France in 120 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates lost 3-5 on penalties. All 5 French players (Ousmane Dembele, Youssouf Fofana, Jules Kounde, Bradley Barcola, Theo Hernandez) successfully took their kicks, while on the Portuguese side, Joao Felix missed his shot, causing the home team to lose.
Just like the match against Slovenia in the round of 16, Ronaldo took the first penalty kick and succeeded with a dangerous shot into the left corner of the goal. However, the difference between Ronaldo in this match and the previous match was that he did not cry, nor did he show too much emotion.
Ronaldo says goodbye to the last EURO
AFP
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In the match against Slovenia, Ronaldo cried immediately after missing a penalty kick in extra time. The 39-year-old striker was consoled by Pepe, Bruno Fernandes, Francisco Conceicao, and Bernardo Silva before returning to the match.In the match against France, although Portugal lost on penalties, meaning Ronaldo’s journey at the EURO had finally come to an end, the striker wearing the number 7 shirt did not cry like in the previous match, but instead went to comfort each of his teammates. When Pepe cried, Ronaldo also went to hug and encourage him.
At 41, Pepe is the oldest player to ever play at EURO. Pepe played the full 120 minutes against France, making his mark with several impressive saves, but could not help Portugal advance. Pepe and Ronaldo are the “everlasting trees” that embody Portugal’s bravery and experience at EURO 2024.
Ronaldo’s calmness, in contrast to his tears in the match against Slovenia, or when Portugal lost to Greece in the EURO 2004 final, are the last images of this striker in his 20 years of playing in the EURO arena.
Ronaldo hugs Pepe
AFP
The 39-year-old striker does not show much emotion.
AFP
Other players might be troubled by a failure at the EURO, but perhaps not Ronaldo. He won the European Championship in 2016, then won the Nations League with Portugal. The 39-year-old superstar holds some of the greatest records: all-time leading international scorer, top scorer in EURO history.
Looking at it from an experience perspective, with the successes and failures that Ronaldo has experienced, it seems that the defeat against France in the quarter-finals of EURO 2024 is no longer too heavy.
The 39-year-old striker himself also played disappointingly with 3 missed situations, including a shot into the sky from close range when Francisco Conceicao tried to cross. Ronaldo could not dribble (0 situations of passing), did not pass the ball to create opportunities, did not successfully build a wall, and did not have enough physical strength to serve the counter-attacking style of play.
The image of many French players sprinting behind Ronaldo, but still getting the ball from the Portuguese striker’s feet shows that he no longer has the physical strength to compete in a harsh playground like EURO.
For the first time in his career, Ronaldo failed to score in a major tournament final. His inability to score in all five matches may have forced CR7 to accept the harsh reality that he is far from his peak.
Ronaldo was caught up by time and lost because of the inevitable law of football. There is no reason to cry about such a defeat!
