Increasingly expressive on the field, Cristiano Ronaldo He was the author of an operetta in the Portugal-Slovenia match with the sequence of his interventions. The Portuguese captain claimed the spotlight for himself, knowing that his team was the centre of attention.
The intensity of the light has been increasing as he has built a formidable career and the striker has not given up his desire to remain at the epicentre until he says goodbye. He took his first steps towards goodbye by leaving for the golden retirement of Saudi Arabia and has confirmed that the Euros will mean his farewell from the international scene.
He has already achieved his goal of playing in six editions, which puts him in first place in the profession for longevity. The goal of being the oldest player to score a goal remains. He has played four frustrating games, and that record was captured by Luka Modric when he scored against Italy at 38 years and 289 days. Cristiano turned 39 on February 5.
Cristiano Ronaldo laments after missing the penalty in extra time with the joy of Slovenian Jure Balkovec behind him. / La Presse / AP
The third challenge
Against Slovenia, he had another chance. He had several opportunities, including the clearest: a penalty. He had enjoyed a foul and a one-on-one with Jan Oblak that the goalkeeper won. And the third mutual challenge came, just as the first half of extra time was about to end. Oblak made an excellent intervention. “I have to check if I threw it well or badly,” said Cristiano at the end of the match, his composure and coolness having recovered.
That mistake unleashed the drama The star was in tears after the mistake. The cameras are now following him for the eloquence of his emotional reactions rather than for his footballing gestures, the former being more frequent, the latter being rarer.
Jan Oblak’s save from Cristiano Ronaldo’s first penalty. / La Presse / AP
“These are inexplicable moments. I had the opportunity to put the national team ahead and I didn’t manage it. Oblak made a good save. I didn’t fail once during the year and when I needed it most, Oblak stopped it,” explained Cristiano, who scored The defeat of Al Nasser is a tragedy in the Saudi Cup final against Al Hilal, where he collapsed at the end of the match in a fit of tears.
Against Slovenia the match continued, although at the break in extra time it had to be consoled by his companions. Up in the stands, the mother was also shedding tears. Her guilt would have been even greater if Diogo Costa, in the first of his crucial interventions, had not deflected a one-on-one with Benjamin Sesko after a serious mistake by Pepe in the 114th minute.
Cristiano Ronaldo takes the first penalty of the shootout, the second of the night, which he converted. / La Presse / AP
Diego Costa turned the world drama into the immense liberation of Cristiano with the three stops of the batch. The captain had taken another penalty, his first, and beat Oblak, after which he turned to the stands to apologize to the Portuguese fans, as if the fate of the entire country depended on his actions.
Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo, liberated and happy, after the victory over Slovenia. / La Presse / AP
This is how Cristiano claimed the nuclear role that he attributes to himself. “I missed the penalty, but I wanted to be the first to score, because you have to take responsibility,” The captain said he had forgotten the previous mistake and had now won the match, which puts him in the fifth battle: the quarter-finals against France this Friday in Hamburg.
2024-07-02 10:21:36
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