Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty in extra time was saved but the skipper of Portugal made it up by converting the first spot kick of the shoot-out.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions for Portugal and their captain Cristiano Ronaldo in their Euro 2024 round of 16 match against Slovenia. The match went to extra time after a 0-0 draw, and in the first minutes of its first half, Ronaldo’s penalty was saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak. It led to the 39-year-old being in tears after the first half of extra time.
That meant the match ultimately had to be decided by a penalty shootout and Ronaldo stepped up to take the first kick for Portugal. Oblak went the right way again but this time Ronaldo managed to get it out of reach of the goalkeeper towards the bottom left. Ronaldo celebrated by folding his hands together and then holding them, apologetically, to the Portugal fans behind the goal.
Videos of the incident have gone far and wide on social media and lots of sympathy has been poured out for the veteran five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Later, Ronaldo commended Oblak for the extra-time save. “Sadness at the start is joy at the end,” Ronaldo told an on-field interview in the aftermath of the final whistle.
“That is what football is. Moments, inexplicable moments.”
“A direct shot to take the team to a win, and I didn’t succeed. Good save from Oblak. I have to see the penalty, but I don’t know if I shot well or badly; what’s true is that I haven’t missed once this year, and when I most needed it, Oblak saved it.”
It was the Portugal goalkeeper, Costa, who was the hero in the shootout as he kept out all three that he faced from Slovenia. The win confirmed a date against two-time champions France for Portugal, and a beaming Ronaldo was seen hugging Costa. “I think this was the game of my life,” he told reporters. “Maybe the game where I was most useful. Am very, very happy and also very excited that I helped the team.”
Speaking after his side’s victory, Costa said he could fully understand how frustrated Ronaldo would have felt at missing the penalty in extra time. He told Sport: “We all know that Cris is the hardest worker. I understand how frustrated he is because he devotes all his time to this.
He went on to express his respects to the Real Madrid great, saying that it was “an honor for him to be able to play with him.”. For me, it’s an honor to play on the same team. We’re a family—in my mind, I believe in the work that we put in, he said.
