Cristiano Ronaldo’s Emotional Rollercoaster: From Tears to Triumph as Diogo Costa’s Heroics Rescues Portugal from Euro Exit After Ronaldo’s Penalty Miss
It was not Cristiano Ronaldo’s night in the round-of-16 clash against Slovenia that Portugal won after Diogo Costa saved three consecutive penalties. Ronaldo had the chance to win it and avoid penalties, but the exceptional Jan Oblak made the save to keep the score 0-0.
The 39-year-old Al Nassr forward played the entire 120 minutes with a palpable determination. At times, Cristiano Ronaldo’s hunger to score meant his teammates had to take a backseat. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was resolute in his goal to score, even putting himself on freekick duty despite his recent struggles with setpieces.
Two freekicks in the first half defined how talented Ronaldo can be and how his confidence can damage the team. For the first freekick, he rifled a ferocious shot from right outside the box and came within inches of the crossbar. However, in the second freekick, Ronaldo insisted on taking it despite the unfavorable angle suiting a cross rather than a shot at goal; he shot directly at goal and was nowhere near the target.
With no goals at Euro 2024 so far, Cristiano’s hunger was on full display as he made clever use of space in the box but could not capitalize on the chances. Cristiano was visibly upset and reduced to tears after he saw his penalty saved in the dying minutes of extra time. He had to be comforted by his teammates to regain his composure. Luckily, he lives to fight another day as goalkeeper Diogo Costa made three consecutive penalty saves to win the match and qualify for the quarter-finals, where Ronaldo will hope for a better performance.
