EURO 2024: Portugal Media Demand To DROP Cristiano Ronaldo For Quarterfinal Against Kylian Mbappes France

Uncharacteristically, Ronaldo missed the penalty as Oblak saved it to keep his country alive in the match. Soon after Jan Oblak’s save, Ronaldo was seen bursting into tears. Later on, Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved Portugal in the shoot-out saving all of the first three attempts from Slovenia players as Portugal went through on penalties (3-0).

A Portuguese publication named ‘Publico’ gave Ronaldo a brutal rating of 4/10 in what they felt was ‘another poor performance from the captain’. (Cristiano Ronaldo’s Redemption: From Tears To Triumph In Portugal’s Shoot-Out Victory Over Slovenia)

Their analysis continued: “Just like in the last game – although less so – he spent a lot of time on the ground.

“Then he made poor decisions in finishing areas, poor passes in front of goal – he ruined some plays – and was inaccurate in finishing, even though he only had a clear goal-scoring opportunity at the end of the second half.

“He also has a low success rate in free kicks, something that has been seen a lot.

“He missed a penalty. Ronaldo doesn’t attack space, doesn’t explore depth, doesn’t offer football in front of goal and doesn’t finish like he did at other times in his career – and it’s debatable whether Ronaldo, in this form, is more of a virtue than a flaw for this team.

A tearful Ronaldo said after the match: “Even the strongest people have their [bad] days. I was at rock bottom when the team needed me the most.

“Sadness at the start is joy at the end. That’s what football is. Moments, inexplicable moments. I feel sad and happy at the same time.

“But the important thing is to enjoy it. The team did an extraordinary job. We fought right to the end and I think we deserved it because we had more authority.”

Costa’s fine goalkeeping helped Ronaldo earn redemption as he pulled out some fine saves to set a semifinal clash with Kylian Mbappe’s France, which defeated Belgium. France secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Belgium, securing their quarterfinal spot with the help of a Randel Kolo Muani’s strike in the 85th minute. His strike deflected off defender Jan Vertonghen and went past the goalie Koen Casteels to seal the victory.

France controlled the ball possession for the majority of the game and almost broke the deadlock at the either side of the half-time with Marcus Thuram and Aurelien Tchouameni while Mbappe also delivered some fantastic footwork. But Mbappe’s finishing was off-colour. Belgium could have secured a victory as Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne tried to score, forcing saves from Mike Maignan.