Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrates his strength by bowing out gracefully after Portugal’s 1-0 World Cup loss to Morocco. It is uncommon to see one of the biggest football stars become enraged or go on an accusation rampage after their country is eliminated in the most unceremonious manner.
In a post on his Facebook page, he says winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of his career. “Fortunately I won many titles of international dimension, including with Portugal, but putting our country’s name on the highest foot in the World was my biggest dream.”
The dream crashed after a magnificent performance by Morocco, the only African representatives left in the World Cup. Morocco is playing against France in the semi-finals this Thursday (Malaysia time) and Ronaldo would surely miss the challenge and the adrenaline of such an encounter.
The worst case scenario has happened for Ronaldo after his brutal exit from Manchester United where he says he was un-welcomed and now his future with the national team too is questioned.
Head on his shoulder
Cristiano Ronaldo “revealed” on Instagram that the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be his final tournament, which isn’t a huge shock considering he’ll be 41 by the time the USA, Mexico, and Canada tournament rolls around in 2026.
Ronaldo was uninspiring for the most part of his participation in the match against Morocco. But he had one chance to bring Portugal to equalise against the Maghribi side if not for the mighty save by the goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo showed calmness in the aftermath of the defeat.
“I fought for it . I fought hard for this dream. In the 5 appearances I scored in World Cups over 16 years, I was always by the side of great players and supported by millions of Portuguese, I gave my all. Leave it all out on the field. I never turned my face to the fight and I never gave up on that dream,” he said.
He adds, “sadly the dream ended’ and that It is not worth reacting to heat of the moment.
He however, laments what he calls the lies and misinformation spread about him.
“I just want you all to know that much has been said, much has been written, much has been speculated, but my dedication to Portugal has not changed not for a moment. I was always one fighting for the objective of all and I would never turn my back on my colleagues and my country.
“Not much more to say for now. Thank you Portugal. Thank you Qatar The dream was nice while it lasted… Now, it’s hoping that the weather will be good advisor and allow each one to draw their own conclusions. ??❤️??”
Ronaldo and World Cup goals
He now has 10 goals overall after the four goals he has already scored in the 2022 World Cup. Ronaldo and Portugal were eliminated, so he won’t have a chance to add to his eight goals.
The remarkable total of 195 international appearances held by Malaysian football legend Datuk Soh Chin Aun has been surpassed by Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal’s 37-year-old Ronaldo made his 196th appearance for his country in Saturday’s quarterfinal match against Morocco at the World Cup being held in Qatar.
Portugal has made it to the FIFA World Cup final round eight times, including in 1966, 1986, 2002, and every subsequent final round. As of 2022, their third-place finish in 1966 and fourth in 2006 remain their best finishes.
Eusebio remains the best
Despite Ronaldo’s best performances for his country, he is still not as good as Eusebio in some sense.
The one FIFA World Cup the Portuguese international Eusébio da Silva Ferreira participated in was sufficient for him to manage this record.
In 1966, Portugal qualified for the World Cup for the first time, and to everyone’s surprise, they finished in third place. Eusebio had a major impact on that edition.
The 1965 Ballon d’Or winner beat Korea DPR in the quarterfinals with four goals, advancing them to the semifinal. They lost to England, who went on to win the competition. The tournament’s Golden boot was won by Eusebio, also known as the Black Panther.
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