On Monday, Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championship after defeating Slovenia in a penalty shootout, a game that culminated in monumental personal drama and tears for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Slovenian goalie Jan Oblak stopped Ronaldo’s extra-time penalty effort in the 114th minute, sending the game to a shootout. Extra time and regulation ended in a scoreless draw.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the opening goal for Portugal in the penalty shootout, but his teammate Diogo Costa stopped all three penalty attempts taken by Slovenia, from Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec, and Benjamin Verbič.
“After the final whistle, it’s joy at the end, sadness at the beginning,” Ronaldo stated in an interview that took place on the pitch. Football is all about it. Encounters, unexplainable encounters.
“A clear shot to give the squad the lead. It slipped my mind. The rescue by Oblak was commendable…. I don’t know how good I shot, but I’ve managed to hit every single one of my shots this year, and Oblak came through for me when I needed him to. Now I just need to see the penalty.
With two shots remaining, Portugal sealed the shootout 3-0 thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.
“I think Portugal deserved it because we had more authority,” he said. Almost the whole game was devoted to defense by Slovenia… The whole squad deserves praise for their efforts, but particularly for the three fantastic saves made by our goalie, Costa.
In Friday’s quarterfinal encounter in Hamburg, the two teams will meet again; the 2016 final was a rematch between the two countries, in which Portugal triumphed in Paris.
“He’s an example for us,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez stated in his postmatch press conference about Ronaldo. Feelings like those after a missed penalty shot are unbelievable. After his career and everything he has accomplished, he doesn’t have anything to worry about.
He was the first to take the penalty after the other player missed it. He had to lead the charge and point us in the right direction, I was sure of it. We are quite pleased of his reaction since it serves as an example.
At the age of 39, Ronaldo entered the 2024 European Championship match without a goal.
In the first session of extra time, in the 105th minute, after failing to convert five or six of the kind of opportunities he has flourished with for the last two decades, he had to score if he wanted to become the oldest player to ever do it at a Euro finals event.
Ronaldo went up to take what seemed to be the game-winning penalty shot for Portugal.
Rather, Oblak dove to his left to divert the well-struck ball away from goal and away from danger. The two had been long-time rivals during their time playing in LaLiga in Madrid.
As the second session of extra time commenced, Ronaldo’s eyes quickly filled with tears and started to flow freely. In an effort to reassure him, his teammates kissed his forehead and encouraged him to go on.
Television footage captured Ronaldo’s mother sobbing after her son missed a penalty kick. She was at the stadium throughout the game.
Extra time ended 0-0, and when the penalty shootout began, Slovenia’s first shot was saved by Costa.
Ronaldo took the stage in front of a mass crowd of around 10,000 Portuguese supporters. He positioned it wonderfully low past Oblak, diving to his right.
Ronaldo apologized to the crowd and placed his hands together as if in prayer. The crowd reacted with a roaring and forgiving yell of “Siuuuu” — their soccer icon’s characteristic scoring scream.
Ronaldo had a tough first 90 minutes, and the heated extra-time drama came after that.
After three free kicks and two mistimed headers, the Portugal star seemed poised to score with his first clean shooting opportunity in open play.
It happened in the 89th minute when he sprinted clear on goal with the ball perfectly placed in his stride. The left-foot shot was low and strong, but Oblak’s blocking was superior. Ronaldo stretched up his arms in frustration once again.
Portugal is still fighting to reclaim the European championship they won in 2016, at the cost of an outstanding Slovenia team that went undefeated after drawing all four games at Euro 2024.
“His emotions show respect for Slovenia,” Coach Matjaz Kek said of Ronaldo. “And that is what I am content with.”
How many missed penalties has Ronaldo missed?
Throughout his career, the 39-year-old has taken 194 penalties, scoring 164 times and missing 30. That means he has an overall conversion percentage from the spot of 84.5 percent.
Is Ronaldo in Euro 2024?
Cristiano Ronaldo has guaranteed that the European Championship in Germany will be “without a doubt” the end of his remarkable career. Ronaldo will make his record-breaking sixth participation in a European Championship in 2024.
Did Ronaldo miss the penalty against Slovenia?
Cristiano Ronaldo burst into tears after missing an extra-time penalty in Portugal’s last-16 Euro 2024 match against Slovenia.
