Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears at full-time after his and Portugal’s World Cup dream ended in the last-16 against Spain in Dallas.
A stalemate for the majority, Mikel Merino’s decisive finish through on goal put Spain in front in stoppage time and Portugal could not find an equaliser despite going close in the dying seconds.
The World Cup is the only major competition Ronaldo has not won but now, at the sixth time of trying, the 41-year-old Portuguese captain will have to come to terms with not claiming international football’s biggest prize.
After the match, Ronaldo was emotional and in tears as he clapped and waved to the Portuguese fans in the stadium. He confirmed before this match that this would be his last World Cup but did not say he would definitely retire from international football.
“I’m sad to be leaving the World Cup like this,” he said. “I gave it my all. I did my best and I’m leaving with a clear conscience. It was my last World Cup, yes, but I’ll now have time to reflect and be with my family. I won’t be making any rash decisions.”
In terms of individual stats. Ronaldo is the most decorated player in international football history with 146 goals in 233 appearances for his country. His crowning moment came in 2016 when Portugal won the European Championship.
BBC pundit Wayne Rooney said of his former teammate: ”He’s a genius, a superstar, what he’s given to football, of course he’s playing in Saudi. But at this level, to millions of people, it’s something very rare, you won’t see very often.
“He’ll be very disappointed because he’ll have thought he could win it. Unfortunately, time gets us all, I wouldn’t rule him out of playing again for Portugal, that’s his mentality.
“I think Roberto Martinez will [have regrets], I think Portugal did OK, they contained Spain, they had energy up front, but now it’s a chance to blossom beyond the Ronaldo years, they’ll see it as a new start.
“He absolutely lives and dedicated his whole life to football. He’s got a mentality that I’ve never seen before, when you play at the top level, you have a certain mentality, but his goes beyond that.
“He wants to play every game, break every record. He doesn’t hold back in training. He believes he’s the best player ever, he’s had such a great career.”
However, it will be Spain who will face Belgium or the USA in Los Angeles in the quarter-finals on Friday.
