Cristiano Ronaldo burst into tears after missing a penalty for Portugal against Slovenia. On what proved a nightmare night for the 39-year-old, his frustration was compounded in extra time when his effort from 12 yards was superbly tipped around the post by Jan Oblak.
And the despair proved too much for international football’s record goalscorer.
At the end of the first 15 minute period, Ronaldo could be seen crying uncontrollably as team-mates tried in vain to console him.
Prior to the miss, it had already been an awful individual night for the Real Madrid icon. And to compound matters, he was mocked relentlessly by Slovenia fans after missing a host of opportunities.
On four different occasions during the 90 minutes, ‘CR7’ lined up a free-kick from outside the area, blasting one effort narrowly over in the first half and another embarrassingly wide. In the second period Oblak beat away his third go at a set-piece, before a fourth flew high and wide.
And it was after the latter shot that Slovenia fans mercilessly targeted the icon. They jeered ironically before chanting ‘Messi’ repeatedly, in reference to the perceived rivalry between Ronaldo and the 2022 World Cup winner.
Some supporters were even holding up Argentina shirts during the game. Indeed, with every failed attempt, the jerseys were waved in the stands as the icon’s dismay grew.
But it wasn’t just from set piece situations where Ronaldo endured a nightmare. Three times in the first half he narrowly failed to connect with crosses into the area, and his touch also let him down when he had the chance to bare down on goal in the area.
And shortly before the final whistle there was another chance to break the deadlock, but he could only fire a left-foot shot straight at Oblak. However, it was Ronaldo and his team-mates who had the last laugh after the tie went to penalties.
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