A year ago in Qatar, Portugal was eliminated by Morocco (1-0) in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo left the field disillusioned and returned to the locker room in tears.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar not only allowed Lionel Messi to become ever more THE football legend, at the end of the final won by Argentina on penalties against the France team, on December 18 2022. The Qatari World Cup also offered an absolutely crazy scene: Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from the field during the elimination of Portugal and the tears of the five-time Ballon d’Or in the corridor leading to the locker room, in front of the cameras of the whole world.
After having defeated Switzerland 6-1 in the round of 16, without “CR7” at the kick-off but with a hat-trick from the established center forward, Gonçalo Ramos, the Portuguese Seleçao then came up against Morocco, who had already took out Spain on penalties in the round of 16. The Atlas Lions finally won this quarter-final 1-0 with a goal from Youssef En-Nesyri on December 10, 2022. Ronaldo, who entered in the 51st minute, did not have the opportunity to save his homeland .
At 37, Cristiano Ronaldo is thinking of drawing a line under his dreams of a world title. But the one who found a smile again in Saudi Arabia (he had just terminated his contract at Manchester United in the middle of the World Cup) has since continued to shake the nets in the selection! He finished the Euro 2024 qualifiers with 10 goals in 9 matches and will try to shine at the tournament in Germany. We will only be two years away from the 2026 World Cup in North America…
