Cristiano Ronaldo was seen in tears after missing a penalty for Portugal against Slovenia
Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo endured a haunting evening during his nation’s Euro 2024 last-16 against Slovenia and couldn’t help but bursting into tears after missing a key penalty
Cristiano Ronaldo broke down after missing an extra-time penalty for Portugal at Euro 2024 before redeming himself in a shootout.
Roberto Martinez’s men were awarded a penalty at the end of the first-half of extra time against Slovenia as Liverpool forward Diogo Jota was tripped. Ronaldo stepped up but saw his effort parried away by Jan Oblak.
After being denied on the first occasion, Ronaldo broke down in tears. A number of the Portugal captain’s teammates rallied around the striker to give him words of encouragement as Portugal headed into the second period of extra time.
Former Manchester United teammate Diogo Dalot was among those to offer his support. Ronaldo’s mum also let the emotions get the better of her as she was also spotted crying in the stands.
Speaking after the incident, BBC pundit Micah Richards said: "Dalot, Dalot there. Shows his passion for the game. He’s absolutely devastated isn’t he?"
Ronaldo’s former Portugal teammate Jose Fonte added: "He’s an emotional guy obviously. He feels the game. He wants to score more than anything else and obviously that will hurt him for sure."
Ronaldo made up for his miss during the resultant penalty shootout as he this time found the net. He lifted his arms up in apology to the crowd after scoring.
Alan Shearer was full of praise for Ronaldo and the way he composed himself. He said: "Stepping up. The courage. We should have known. The courage, the belief he’s got in himself and everything else to step forward and say ’give me a penalty." Gary Lineker replied: "Never a question about that, that’s for sure."
Slovenia saw their first three spot-kicks saved by Diogo Costa. Bernardo Silva then scored the winning penalty to send Portugal through into the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo, now 39, had endured a rotten evening on Monday. He fired an array of free-kicks off target, while another was easily saved by Oblak. Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo failed to score during the group stages of the tournament, the first time that has happened in a major international tournament during his career.
Fans were quick to flood to his defence after seeing his emotions. One fan said: "Ronaldo crying is so sad to see, while another supporter wrote: "Ronaldo in tears, I kinda feel sorry for him. He’s clearly under a lot of pressure."
A final fan said: "There is nothing worse for a Football fan than seeing your favorite player miss a penalty in a big stage. Ronaldo is crying, understandably."
After their penalty shootout success, Ronaldo and co tee7d-up a quarter-final meeting with France. It is a rematch of the 2016 final - another game in which the veteran striker’s emotions got the better of him.
He was stretchered off after suffering injury and was pictured in floods of tears. But he reappeared to bark instructions to his teammates as Eder’s goal saw Portugal claim their first-ever international crown.
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