He played in the Euro Cup for the last time. The dream of winning the World Cup was not fulfilled. However, Cristiano Ronaldo has to leave the Euro with a broken heart. He told his country’s public broadcaster, RTP, before the tournament that this year’s Euros were his last. After losing to France in the penalty shootout, Portugal and CRSeven also have to leave. France and Portugal met in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning. In that match, Mbappe’s France reached the semi-finals after dramatically defeating Portugal.
The tiebreaker ended 5-3 in favor of France. France all put the ball in the net in the penalty shoot-out, but Joao Felix missed for Portugal. “Without a doubt, this is my last Euro Championship,” said the superstar after the 3-0 tiebreaker win over Slovenia before the match. But I’m not getting emotional about it at all. I can’t help but be moved by the enthusiasm of the fans, family, and even myself for the game.”
But it is not that he did not get the trophy at all. In 2016, Ronaldo made Portugal the Euro champion. Significantly, Portugal beat France in the finals of the tournament. Saturday’s loss seems to have come full circle. Ronaldo’s last Euro exit was against the team that defeated him to become champions of Portugal.
Ronaldo netted the first shot in the tiebreaker on Saturday. After the fate of the match was finalized, he stood there emotionless. Pepe threw himself on Ronaldo’s jersey, crying with emotion. The superstar then walked towards the tunnel with a momentary consolation for his long-time national teammate.
This victory against Portugal gave France relief again. The French coach was forced to remove Mbappe, the number one star of the team, as he suffered a facial injury before the penalty shootout. Earlier, Mbappe was continuing to play in the current tournament wearing a mask after sustaining a severe injury to his nose. France have previously been eliminated in penalty shoot-outs at two major tournaments: the last 16 of Euro 2021 and the World Cup final in 2022. France face Spain in the semis, who beat Germany in extra time in the other last-eight match on Friday.
