Ronaldo ends Euros career as France trumps Portugal on penalties
Cristiano Ronaldo has ended his European Championship career after Portugal missed a penalty shootout against France -penalties/ar-BB1purQm. After 120 goalless minutes, Ronaldo managed to score in the penalty shootout, but could not prevent Portugal from losing 5â3, after France were perfect in their penalty execution and JoĂŁo FĂ©lix missed his attempt /ronaldo-ends-euros-career-france-trumps-portugal-penalties.
Ronaldo has long hinted that this will be his last Euros, given he will be 43 when the next tournament takes place, and finally confirmed it earlier this week. He did not manage to score during Euro 2024Â Ronaldo won the trophy with Portugal in 2016Â â beating France in the final â the only major tournament of his international career. It is not yet known whether he plans to continue and try to play in the 2026 World Cup.
Portugal have survived one penalty shootout before, in their last-16 tie against Slovenia. In the contest, goalkeeper Diogo Costa made things easier for his teammates by saving all three of Sloveniaâs attempts. This time, he couldnât get the slightest bit of a hand in either direction, as Ousmele Dembele, Youssouf Fofana, Jules Kounde, Bradley Barcola, and, to secure the win, Theo Hernandez, all executed well /soccer/ronaldo-ends-euros-career-france-trumps-portugal-penalties.
Ronaldoâs penalty was a moment of theatre, as he looked up at the sky, closed his eyes, took a breath, started and stopped twice in his run, and finally slotted the ball past French goalkeeper Mike Maignan. However, Portugalâs third kick, from Felix, was off target, hitting the goal post .
Previously, Ronaldo had a golden opportunity in the third minute of extra time. When the ball was crossed to his feet just seven yards from goal, the 39-year-old superstar could only send his shot over the crossbar. It resulted in a pained expression on her face, but she wasnât the only global star experiencing discomfort. Kylian MbappĂ©, playing with his trademark mask, felt so much pain after the ball was diverted into the area protecting his broken nose that he was replaced by head coach Didier Deschamps after the first period of extra time -ends-euros-career-france-trumps-portugal-penalties.