This time, not Cristiano Ronaldo’s tears. Instead, the Portuguese captain was comforting a tearful team-mate after suffering pain in his last European Championship and who knew it could be his last international match.
Pepe, still a great defender for his country at the remarkable age of 41, was heartbroken. He cried on Ronaldo’s shoulder in recognition 15 seconds after Portugal beat France in the quarter-finals on Hamburg. Friday.
Two pillars of Portugal. Total 80 years. It’s quite a movie. “Football is ruthless,” said Pepe. Ronaldo wept at Euro 2024 after seeing a penalty saved in extra time in the round of 16 against Slovenia four days ago. He cried at the 2022 World Cup after Portugal beat Morocco in the quarterfinals. But maybe he didn’t have any more tears, because this time he was just looking at the sky, feeling frustrated and sad.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be 41 years old during the next major tournament around the 2026 World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Can he stick around until then?
Well, he is still the captain of his country, holding the men’s record of 130 international goals and 212 international goals. He continues to create the perfect game for his country. The only time he failed at Euro 2024 was in the group stage against Georgia, when he came on in the 66th minute when Portugal were confident of progressing. He played the full 120 minutes against Slovenia and France. But he still clearly commands the respect of his teammates and coach, Roberto Martinez.
Still, Ronaldo, who is currently playing his football away from the global media in Saudi Arabia, has gone eight games without a goal in the major leagues. This includes Portugal’s five matches at Euro 2024 and their last three at the World Cup in Qatar.
He was almost completely blocked by French central defenders William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano, and Ronaldo’s only clear chance came in added time when he finally got away from his mark but was unable to. shoot at the goal from an incoming cross.
Ronaldo converted his penalty kick, but it wasn’t enough. He will also take on the role of comforter for Pepe. I will not say it in public,” Pepe told Canal 11 television, when asked what Ronaldo told him.
“But we think about it a lot. Contrary to what many people think, we think about it a lot. “We are disappointed not to win games, which will be removed from competitions like the European Championship. Knowing that we have a lot of quality to go. That is the pain we are experiencing. “Tears are tears of frustration. When you play against better opposition there are no tears, but it is difficult to accept,” he said.
Martinez added that Ronaldo has yet to make a decision about his international future, saying that things are not going well with Portugal winning as a team and no one has to make a decision.
Pepe is more open, although there is still uncertainty about his future. “I will have an opportunity to speak in the future,” he said. I don’t want to talk about it (now) because tomorrow people can talk about my future instead of this process.”
Ronaldo ended his European Championship career with 14 goals. That’s five more than his compatriot, Michel Platini, who scored all his goals in one Euro 1984 tournament, including two hat-tricks.
Ronaldo is the only player to have participated in six editions of the European Championship. He played football regularly before arriving in Germany. However, Euro 2024 proved to be a distant tournament.
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