Cristiano Ronaldo opens up on his dramatic penalty miss against Slovenia that reduced him to tears – as Portugal scrape through Euro 2024 last-16 tie on spot kicks
- Cristiano Ronaldo saw his penalty in extra time dramatically saved by Jan Oblak
- The Portuguese star was moved to tears against Slovenia and had to be comforted
- LISTEN: Join us as we discuss the BIGGEST topics of conversation It’s all about to begin! EUROS DAILY. Available wherever you get your podcasts
Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken of his ‘sadness’ and ‘joy’ after Portugal reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, beating Slovenia on penalties after failing to score from the penalty spot in extra time.
It was an emotional whirlwind for Ronaldo, who cried at half-time of extra-time but regained his focus in time to score Portugal’s first penalty in the shoot-out, before Diogo Costa made three superb spot-kick saves.
“Sadness at the beginning is joy at the end,” said Ronaldo, whose penalty in extra time was saved by Jan Oblak. “That’s football. Moments, inexplicable moments.
‘One direct shot to put the team ahead and I didn’t make it. Oblak made a good save… I’ll have to see the penalty again. I don’t know if I shot well or badly, but I haven’t missed a single shot all year and when I needed it most, Oblak saved it.
“I think Portugal deserved it because we had more authority. Slovenia defended almost the whole match. It’s very difficult and the whole team deserves compliments, especially our goalkeeper who made three very good saves.”
Cristiano Ronaldo opened his missed penalty against Slovenia, which moved him to tears
Ronaldo saw his penalty in extra time dramatically saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak
Ronaldo broke down in tears after his attempt was saved and had to be comforted by his teammates
Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva scored their penalties while Costa performed his heroics.
“It’s football, the one who fails is the one who also tries,” Ronaldo added to RTP. “Of course it’s frustrating when we can’t score, but it’s football.
I’ve already forgotten [about it] because the final result was positive, we won, that’s the most important thing. Sometimes it’s difficult to score penalties, I’ve scored more than 200 in my career.
“But I’ve lost twice this year on penalties and today I won. Football has to be fair sometimes and today it was fair because I think Portugal deserved to win.”
Ronaldo came back to convert his penalty in the shootout, giving Portugal a 3-0 win
Roberto Martinez praised Ronaldo’s recovery and spoke about his team’s team spirit
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez added: ‘Ronaldo missed a penalty and then he was decisive in the shootout. He paved the way.
“It was a victory for unity, from the dressing room. Cristiano is our captain and he showed that in life and in football there are difficult moments and we cannot give up.
“We have to keep going and this was an example of what to do when things aren’t going well.”