Ronaldo is a loser again. France kicked Portugal out of the Euro

The French team beat the Portuguese team in the quarterfinal match of the European Championship , making no mistakes in the penalty shootout. Kylian Mbappe's gang guaranteed themselves a medal, while Cristiano Ronaldo suffered another setback and will probably end his career in the national team on a sad note. About the main moments of the duel between world football stars — in the material Sport.
Euro 202405 July 2024 • starts at 22:00Finished (P)PortugalPortugal0 : 13:5FranceFrance
121‎’‎ • Cristiano Ronaldo (P)121‎’‎ • Bernardo Silva (P)121‎’‎ • Nuno Mendes (P)
121‎’‎ • Ousmane Dembele (P)121‎’‎ • Youssouf Fofana (P)121‎’‎ • Jules Kounde (P)121‎’‎ • Bradley Barcola (P)121‎’‎ • Theo Hernandez (P)
See all goals
Layouts before the match The Portuguese national team reached the Euro quarterfinal stage, if not with a creak, then with another sound that evokes a feeling of some disgust. Having given up the final match of the group stage with Georgia (0:2) after victories over the Czechs and Turks in exchange for regaining strength for the playoffs, the Portuguese barely defeated the Slovenians and beat them only in a penalty shootout. The football itself, performed by Roberto Martinez's players, to put it mildly, does not delight or attract.

When assessing the results, the same can be said about the French, who before the meeting with Portugal won two victories and two draws at the tournament and scored only three goals, one of which was a penalty, two were own goals from their opponents. Just like Martinez did with Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Deschamps is making a key bet on Kylian Mbappe. Both star forwards are unlikely to benefit from this Euro, and their influence did not bring sufficient benefit to their teams. One penalty goal in a match with the Poles is not at all what is expected from Real Madrid's star newcomer. However, France is rich in personnel, alternative options and the opportunity to accelerate and join the championship gradually, Portugal is not.

Before today's meeting, the teams played seven official head-to-head matches. Five of them took place with the participation of Cristiano Ronaldo. The French celebrated four victories, and the teams tied twice more. Portugal celebrated its only success so far on the main day in the country's football history — July 10, 2016 in the Euro final at the iconic Stade de France.
Portugal and France provided the audience with an effective sleeping pill. That game was remembered even on the eve of today's meeting, its echoes were heard during the match. The frankly boring and extremely sparse first half contrasted perfectly with the gorgeous battle between Spain and Germany, which a little earlier revealed the first semi-finalist of Euro 2024. What happened on the field of the stadium in Hamburg eliminated the need for anyone who has trouble sleeping to take sleeping pills. However, the quarterfinal stage, when every mistake can become fatal, suggests a similar picture.

The second half slightly improved the situation. The teams exchanged dangerous chances that should have led to a goal: Mike Maignan made an important save to prevent Vitinier from scoring from close range, and moments later Ruben Dias made a million-dollar tackle to deny Kolo Muani a sure goal. Ousmane Dembele's cool long-range strike was also a highlight, but the ball, flying into the far top corner, only lightly hit the crossbar and went out of bounds.

As in the Euro 2016 final, there were no goals in regulation time. And if eight years ago Ronaldo did not finish that match, today Mbappe had to leave the field early due to health problems. The star of the French national team was hit in the face by a ball during the match, and the consequences of a broken nose made themselves felt. The same Cristiano had a chance to redeem himself in overtime, but instead of a cool performance, the fans were treated to an inaccurate shot from the goalkeeper area, as well as a ridiculous attempt to shoot with scissors. Even a converted penalty in the post-match penalty kick did not save Ronaldo from failure. The author of the fatal miss was João Felix, who hit the post, but Cristiano will still be seen as the anti-hero, from whom they expected something completely different.
In the end, 5:3 on penalties — France continues the pursuit of the championship, and Portugal goes home.
< br>Ronaldo lost again. Will he say goodbye to the national team? Even before the start of Euro 2024, many announced the Last Dance performed by Cristiano at the tournament. It is unlikely that anyone received aesthetic pleasure from this. You can take care of your health as much as you like, stay in the gym and watch your diet, but age cannot be fooled. Ronaldo is in his 40th year of life, and even a blind person can see that the Portuguese is getting worse in many game parameters. No dribbling, no speed, no touch pass, no power in long-range shots — everything that Krish admired throughout the football world 10-15 years ago is no longer there.

Five incomplete matches, one assist and zero goals — that’s all Ronaldo’s statistics at the tournament. Tears, hysteria and a series of useless records are all that the Portuguese star will be remembered for. Stupid attempts to build a game on Cristiano alone is something for which Robert Martinez was criticized throughout the championship and will be criticized for many more days. Naturally, when the team has a star of Ronaldo’s caliber, given his capriciousness and ego, it is problematic to relegate such a figure to the background. This is where Portugal got burned. Martinez deprived himself of at least one player in positional defense and slowed down the attack, directing all offensive lines to one point. br>
Cristiano achieved great success with the Portuguese national team, made his country happy and raised several generations of football players around him. But now the only thing he can do to help Portugal is to free up a place in the national team and allow them to start a new era.