It was an emotional day for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese captain couldn’t get into the scoresheet as Slovenia continued their sealed defensive run straight in their fourth match in the competition. When the match got stretched past 90 minutes, and it was halfway through the extra time, a golden opportunity was stopped by Oblak from the spot. The kick was taken by the one and only CR7.
The Portuguese couldn’t hold down his tears. Bruno Fernandez, Diego Dalot, and the whole team were seen consoling the maestro, and it seemed like this would be the end of the Euros for the best player in the competition’s history.
Rising Like a Phoenix Bird
After the break of extra time, though Portugal were trying with hooks and crooks to penetrate the Slovenian wall, the match ended up in a penalty shootout, the first one in Euro 2024. Till then, Rono had held down his emotions and stepped up to be the initial one on the spot for the team to face Oblak for another time in the game. Oblak was looking like a man of confidence, and Portugal fans had their fingers crossed. For Ronaldo, it had to be a hundred percent perfect penalty to beat the Athletico Madrid keeper, and his low blow that hit the bottom corner was exactly that. Ronaldo scored, but instead of the usual ‘Siuu’ it was an apology that came from the skipper for the previous miss.
Check Out: Roberto Martinez Hails Ronaldo for Resilience
That goal was key. It was needed to uplift the confidence of the Portuguese players. Diego Costa, the Portugal goalkeeper who had made a crucial save in a one-on-one with Benjamin Sesko earlier in the extra time, blocked all three Slovanians from the spot. Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandez, and, at last, Bernardo Silva found the net, and Portugal qualified for the quarterfinals to meet Kylian Mbappe’s tough France.
Portugues captain faced the media after the match and admitted that ‘It’s a feeling of sadness and joy at the same time’.
“I could have given the national team the advantage, but I didn’t manage it, Oblak saved. I didn’t miss once during the year, when I needed it most Oblak saved.
“It’s a feeling of sadness and joy at the same time, but the most important thing is the progress, the team deserved it. Slovenia spent almost the entire time defending, the team deserves congratulations, especially our goalkeeper who made three good saves [in the shootout.
“Even the strongest people have their days, I was down and I was sad because the team needed me… I can’t do it, I’ll talk later, I’ll talk later.”
Check Out: Euro 2024 Top Scorers
Roberto Martinez Hails Ronaldo for Resilience
The Portuguese coach Roberto Martinez later commented that Ronaldo leads the team by example. Martinez is thankful to the captain for being a great lesson for teammates.
“First and foremost I think he is a constant example for us, the only player that has ever played in six European Championships,” Martínez said. “He is happy taking that responsibility and has got that belief. I thanked him [afterwards] for being the way he is, for caring for the group. I was certain that he would be the first penalty taker and show us the way to take victory. I think we’re all very proud of our captain. Our dressing room was all delighted. I think he gave us all a lesson. Life and football gives you difficult moments and the way he reacted shows why we are so proud in Portuguese football.”
The Portugal vs France quarter-final in Euros is scheduled for 6 June at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg
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