Ronaldo cries after missing penalty in Euro knockout game

In the 104th minute, Ronaldo and his teammates had a golden opportunity to break the tie as referee Daniele Orsato awarded them a penalty after Diogo Jota was brought down by Vanja Drkusic inside the box.

As usual, Ronaldo took responsibility for taking the penalty for Portugal. As a great penalty taker, the 39-year-old striker was expected to score his first goal at Euro 2024 even though he had to face Jan Oblak, Slovakia captain and one of the best goalkeepers at the moment.

However, although Ronaldo had a good kick and sent the ball to the right corner with great force, Oblak guessed the right direction.

He got his hand on the ball and punched it out.

After the amazing save, Oblak shared the joy with his teammates. On the other side, Ronaldo held his head in regret as tens of thousands of fans in the stands were shocked.

The Portugal captain then burst into tears.

Ronaldo has started all four of Portugal's matches at Euro 2024 but has not scored yet. A lot of expectations and pressure were put on him because he is the player who has participated in the most Euro tournaments (6 times), scored the most goals (14 goals) and one goal away from breaking the record for the oldest player to score in an Euro tournament.

Many teammates had to comfort Ronaldo. Among these are Ronaldo's longtime teammates Pepe and Bruno Fernandes.

Ronaldo's mother, Maria Dolores, also couldn't hold back her tears in the stands.

When Portugal discussed the plan for the second extra time and the penalty shootout, Ronaldo continued to sob.

Fans were worrying that the Portugal captain will not be mentally stable to continue playing.

Many young Portugal players such as Diogo Dalot and Joao Palhinha also pulled Ronaldo to the side and continued to encourage him.

Through their gestures, these players seem to have used many strong words to boost the captain's fighting spirit.

Ronaldo stopped crying when he returned to the field. He finished the second half of extra time.

When the two teams entered the penalty shootout, Ronaldo took the first one for Portugal. This time, he buried it to the left corner. Oblak still guessed the right direction but couldn't save it.

Ronaldo's successful penalty contributed to Portugal's win over Slovenia in the shootout. After the match ended, he shared the joy with his teammates and clasped his hands to thank the fans.

He also hugged and thanked goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who saved all three of Slovenia's penalties to send Portugal through.

Costa was voted player of the match.