Paul Rouget, Media365: published on Tuesday July 2, 2024 at 9:26 a.m.
Cristiano Ronaldo was inconsolable after his penalty miss against Slovenia, before finding his smile again by scoring his spot-kick as Portugal qualified for the Euro quarter-finals.
He blamed himself. Despite Portugal’s qualification for the quarter-finals of the Euro, where the team coached by Roberto Martinez will face Les Bleus, Cristiano Ronaldo, who took the first penalty during the session against Slovenia on Monday evening in Frankfurt (0-0, 3-0 on penalties), apologized after this successful attempt. Because a few moments earlier, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could not hold back his tears after seeing his penalty saved by Jan Oblak, just before half-time in extra time. Supported and consoled by his teammates, he found his smile again after this penalty shootout during which his goalkeeper Diogo Costa entered the history of the European Championship by deflecting three opposing attempts.
“Sadness and joy at the same time”
“The initial sadness and the final joy, that’s what football gives, inexplicable moments, that’s it, that’s what happens,” explained “CR7″ to Sport TV. I could have given the Seleção an advantage, I couldn’t. During the year, I didn’t miss a single one. And when I needed it most, Oblak stopped it. It’s a feeling of sadness and joy at the same time, but the most important thing is the qualification, the team deserved it. Slovenia spent almost all their time defending, congratulations to the team, especially to our goalkeeper who made three good saves.”
A goalkeeper who did not fail to support the Portuguese captain. “We all make mistakes, like “Cris” and me. What matters is what we do next. “Cris” is a hard-working person, I understand his frustration. He devotes a lot of time, he is an example for us. And for me, it is an honor to play with him. As Pepe said, we are here for the family.” A family that will therefore test itself on Friday against the French team.
