Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal were eliminated from EURO 2024 last night after losing 5-3 penalties in a penalty shootout against France.
The match ended 0-0 after 120 minutes played. Ronaldo will want to forget about this tournament since he struggled in the knockout stages despite having one of the best squads in the whole tournament.
Portugal topped their group with six points but lost the last match in the group against Georgia. Portugal did not score a goal in the knockout stages, which led to Ronaldo’s poor record in this summer’s tournament. After five World Cups and five European Championships, EURO 2024 is the first major tournament where Ronaldo leaves without scoring a single goal. The Portuguese striker had the chance to do it in the match against Slovenia in the Round of 16. Ronaldo had a penalty kick in extra time against Slovenia, but Jan Oblak saved it to lead the game to a penalty shootout.
Another poor record he has across major international tournaments, which includes the European Championship and the World Cup, for Ronaldo is that he only scored three goals in the knockout stages. Ronaldo scored a goal in the semifinal of EURO 2004 against the Netherlands. CR7 also scored a goal in the quarterfinals of the EUROS 2012 against the Czech Republic. In EURO 2016, he scored a goal against Wales in the semifinal.
Despite not scoring a goal for Portugal in EURO 2024, he did provide an assist in the tournament. He assisted Bruno Fernandes in the 3-0 win against Turkiye in the group stage. Ronaldo started in all five of the matches for Portugal in EURO 2024. He was subbed off the game in the match against Georgia, where Portugal lost 2-0. Ronaldo is hoping to continue with the Portuguese national team despite not scoring for them this summer.
Ronaldo to continue with Portugal?
The 2026 World Cup is two years away, and after confirming that EURO 2024 was his last European Championship, many wonder if he will play in the next World Cup. Relevo reports that Ronaldo is gaming to play in the World Cup, which is two years away. His contract with Al Nassr expires in 2025, a year before the major tournament.
