Portugal’s Pepe is consoled by teammate Cristiano Ronaldo following the team’s defeat in the penalty shoot-out during the UEFA EURO 2024 quarterfinal match against France in Hamburg on July 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

This time, they weren’t Cristiano Ronaldo’s tears.

Instead, the Portugal superstar’s role was to console a weeping teammate after a painful exit from their last European Championship — and, who knows, potentially their final major international tournament.

Pepe, a defender still excelling for his country at the remarkable age of 41, was dejected as he sobbed on the shoulder of Ronaldo in a embrace lasting about 15 seconds following Portugal’s penalty-shootout loss to France in the quarterfinals in Hamburg on Friday.

Two Portugal stalwarts. A combined age of 80. It was quite the sight.

“Soccer is very cruel,” Pepe said.

Ronaldo cried himself at Euro 2024 — after having a penalty saved during extra time of the last-16 match against Slovenia just four days ago. He cried at the 2022 World Cup after Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals.

Maybe he was out of tears, because this time he simply looked into the sky, appearing to be disappointed and rueful.

Ronaldo will be 41 when the next major tournament rolls around — the 2026 World Cup, jointly held by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Can he stick around until then? Well, he is still captain of his country — the holder of a men’s record 130 international goals and 212 international appearances.

He is still churning out full games for his country. The only time he didn’t complete a match at Euro 2024 was in the group stage against Georgia, when he came off in the 66th minute with Portugal assured of advancing. He played the entire 120 minutes against Slovenia and France.

And he still clearly commands the respect of his teammates and coach, Roberto Martinez.

Yet Ronaldo, who now plays his club soccer out of the global spotlight in Saudi Arabia, has now gone eight games without a goal in major tournaments. That takes in all five of Portugal’s matches at Euro 2024 and its final three at the World Cup in Qatar.

He was almost completely shackled by France center backs William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano, with Ronaldo’s only clear chance coming in extra time when he finally escaped his marker but couldn’t hook a shot on target from a cross from the right.

Ronaldo converted his penalty in the shootout but it wasn’t enough, And then he had to take on the role of comforter for Pepe.

“I won’t say it publicly,” Pepe told TV station Canal 11, when asked what Ronaldo said to him. “But we feel it a lot. Contrary to what many people think, we feel it a lot.

“We feel the frustration of not winning a game, of being eliminated in such a big competition as the European Championship, knowing that we had a lot of quality to go through. That’s the pain we feel.”

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez echoed those thoughts, saying “the tears are tears of frustration.” “When you play against better opposition, there are no tears but this is hard to accept,” he said.

Martinez added that Ronaldo had yet to make a call about his international future, saying things were “too raw” and that Portugal was “suffering a defeat as a team — there are no individual decisions at this point.” Pepe was slightly more open, even if he still left things unclear about his future.

“I will have the opportunity to speak in the future,” he said. “I don’t want to speak about it (now) because tomorrow people might be speaking about my future instead of talking about this process.” Ronaldo finishes his European Championship career on a record 14 goals. That’s five more than his nearest rival, Michel Platini, who scored all of his at one tournament — Euro 1984 — including two hat tricks.

Ronaldo is the only player to go to six editions of the European Championship. He had scored at each one before arriving in Germany.

Euro 2024, however, proved a tournament too far..

File picture of France’s Kylian Mbappe and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo
| Photo Credit: AP

Cristiano Ronaldo versus Kylian Mbappé. A clash of football icons. A clash of generations.

They’ll go head to head when Portugal plays France in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals on Friday, and this heavyweight meeting might have got just that little bit bigger.

“It is, without doubt, my last European Championship,” the 39-year-old Ronaldo said after his tearful, emotionally charged performance in Portugal’s penalty-shootout victory over Slovenia in the last 16. That may have just confirmed what many were presuming anyway.

Still, there’s now a definitive specter of finality to Ronaldo’s long, headline-grabbing Euros adventure that could be brought to an end by Mbappé, the heir apparent to Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after their long-time dominance of the sport.

Mbappé grew up with pictures of Ronaldo on his bedroom wall.

A photo is inevitably doing the rounds on social media of what is apparently their first ever meeting, at Real Madrid’s training ground at Valdebebas in 2012 when a 13-year-old Mbappé stood beside Ronaldo after a visit to the Spanish club where his sporting hero was the star player.

In 2020, Mbappé posted on Twitter, now X, that Ronaldo was his “idol.” And only a few months ago, Ronaldo reacted to Mbappé clinching a highly anticipated move to Madrid by writing on Instagram: “Excited to see you light up the Bernabeu.”

That Mbappé can now end Ronaldo’s European Championship career — who knows, it might even be his last ever major tournament — adds an intriguing subplot to a match that will be watched around the world.

“Let’s go, let’s go to war,” Ronaldo said of the match against France, whom he considers as the top contender at Euro 2024 along with Spain.

He said he was driven to tears against Slovenia not at the prospect of elimination but because his main motivation these days is “making people happy” and he had a penalty saved in extra time.

“I’m moved by all that football means — by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm for seeing my supporters, my family, the affection people have for me.

“It’s not about leaving the world of football. What else is there for me to do or win?” Ronaldo heads into Friday’s game having failed to score in eight straight matches at major tournaments — Portugal’s last four at the 2022 World Cup and its four games at Euro 2024 — and with growing concerns about whether he deserves what appears to be a guaranteed spot in the team under Roberto Martinez.

Things haven’t been straightforward for Mbappé, either, at Euro 2024.

He sustained a broken nose in France’s group opener against Austria and has since been wearing a vision-limiting protective facemask during games. Mbappé has scored one goal and that was from the penalty spot against Poland – it’s the only goal scored by a France player at these Euros.

“He will have to get used to it,” France coach Didier Deschamps said of Mbappé and his mask, “because, to protect (his nose), he will have to wear it for a few weeks — or even a few months.”

Few would have predicted the top scorer at the last World Cup (Mbappé) and the record scorer in men’s international football (Ronaldo) to have just one goal between them heading into the quarterfinals.

But no one will be surprised if they come alive in Hamburg, with the pressure on and the occasion so big.

Mbappé, remember, scored a hat trick in the World Cup final and has been logging Ronaldo-esque scoring numbers in the first part of his career. He’s already on 48 goals for France at the age of 25, and is also on 48 goals in the Champions League from 73 appearances.

He is chasing down Ronaldo’s scoring records at both international (130) and Champions League (140) level and will likely only succeed by showing the same undimmed passion and desire as the player he used to copy as a kid.

As their countries’ respective captains, they’ll shake hands and embrace before kickoff. You can bet they’ll do the same after the match.

By that time, one of them will be on his way home. For Mbappé, there will surely be more European Championships down the road. For Ronaldo, this could be the end of the road.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after scoring in penalty shootout of a round of sixteen match between Portugal and Slovenia at the Euro 2024 tournament in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 1, 2024
| Photo Credit: AP

Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed this year’s European Championship will be the last of his career.

The Portugal superstar, who is 39, is playing at the Euros for a record sixth time and his country has reached the quarterfinals — where Kylian Mbappé and France await in Hamburg on Friday.

Speaking to Portuguese public broadcaster RTP after the penalty-shootout victory over Slovenia, Ronaldo said: “It is, without doubt, my last European Championship.

“But I’m not emotional about that. I’m moved by all that football means — by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm for seeing my supporters, my family, the affection people have for me.”

Ronaldo, who is one of the most prolific scorers in football history and has a record 14 goals at European Championships, said his main motivation now was “making people happy.”

He was reduced to tears during the Slovenia game after having a penalty saved in extra time.

“It’s not about leaving the world of football,” he said. “What else is there for me to do or win? It’s not going to come down to one point more or one point less.”

Portugal’s goalkeeper Diogo Costa saves the ball during penalties of a round of sixteen match against Slovenia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 1, 2024
| Photo Credit: AP

Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa said he had the best game of his life against Slovenia on July 1 as he saved three penalties to send his team into the Euro 2024 quarterfinals.

After a goalless draw over 120 minutes of the last 16 clash in Frankfurt, Porto goalkeeper Costa produced three saves to thwart Slovenia’s three takers as his team claimed a 3-0 shoot-out win.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed a penalty in extra-time, converted in the shoot-out along with Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva for Portugal, who face France on July 5 in the last eight.

The 24-year-old also made a vital one-on-one save with his foot in the second period of extra-time when Slovenia’s Benjamin Sesko bore down on his goal following a defensive error.

“I think this is probably the best game of my life, maybe the game I was most useful in,” Costa told reporters.

“I just went with my gut, of course we analysed the shooters, but players change their minds, and they change the way they shoot.

“I had to go with my gut, that’s what I felt. I am very, very happy, and I am very excited to help the team.”

Costa said he tried to anticipate what Sesko was going to do for his crucial save near the end of extra-time.

“I thought ‘I need to stop this, I’ll give it my best effort’,” he explained.

“I tried to read his body language and thankfully I managed to help the team, which was the key thing.”

Costa was pleased Ronaldo dusted himself down and scored after his 105th-minute penalty miss that left the superstar striker in tears.

“We all felt we needed to keep believing — myself and Cristiano, everybody makes mistakes, but the most important thing is what we do after these mistakes,” added Costa.

“We need to believe in ourselves and that’s what we did. And now we’re all very happy and all friends.”

Selecao coach Roberto Martinez said Ronaldo’s emotions showed how much he still cared in his sixth European Championship, despite a long and illustrious career.

“Those emotions are incredible for someone who has done so much, that’s why I thank him… only the penalty takers can miss penalties,” said Martinez.

“I was certain he had to be the first taker (in the shoot-out) and show us our way to the victory.

“Everyone is very proud of our captain. He gives us all a lesson, to have real high standards and never give up.”

Martinez also hailed Costa, saying the shot-stopper is a “very well kept secret in Portuguese football”.

“I’ve worked with a lot of goalkeepers and he’s up there with the best,” said Martinez.

“(The key is) his maturity, his experience, and we now get to benefit from his performances.”

Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after winning the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between Portugal and Slovenia.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bernardo Silva struck the winning spot kick and Diogo Costa made three saves as Portugal won a penalty shootout 3-0 against battling Slovenia to reach the quarter-finals at Euro 2024 where they will meet France.

After a scoreless 90 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to put Portugal ahead from the penalty spot in the first half of extra time, but Jan Oblak saved brilliantly to leave the Portuguese captain in tears.

Neither side could fashion a goal and the game went to penalties, with Josep Ilicic having the first kick saved for the Slovenians before Ronaldo put his side ahead, and when Jure Balkovec’s spot kick was saved the writing was on the wall.

Costa then saved from Benjamin Verbic, setting Silva up to confidently slot home the winner to put Portugal through to the last eight and a meeting with the French in Hamburg on Friday.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been a showstopper, as expected, at the European Championship.

Just not necessarily in the way he’d like to be.

The Portugal superstar with 632 million followers on Instagram and a never-ending stream of endorsement deals has had to deal with a raft of on-field selfie-seekers, during matches and in training. One presumed super-fan even leapt from the stands over the players’ tunnel toward a startled-looking Ronaldo as he headed to the locker room after Portugal’s match against Georgia.

He’s raged at a referee (earning a yellow card), booted away a water bottle, and angrily remonstrated in the dug-out. He’s also had 12 shots, more than anyone else at Euro 2024.

What Ronaldo hasn’t done is score a goal — and that’s the currency he deals in, at least in soccer.

OK, there was that moment he passed up a golden chance to score by passing unselfishly to Bruno Fernandes for Portugal’s third goal in the 3-0 win over Turkey. A double-stepover that befuddled Abdulkerim Bardakci and left the Turkey center back on his back has proved a hit on social media and gave the world a reminder of the Ronaldo of 10, 15, even 20 years ago.

Ronaldo, though, is 39 now. Those big moments have become fleeting, especially when it comes to the big tournaments and when he’s playing against top-level defenses.

Make that seven straight matches in which he has failed to score at a major tournament, covering the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. For the first time in his 21-year international career taking in five World Cups and six European Championships, he has ended a group stage without a goal.

So, with the powers of this undoubted soccer great on the wane, the question will again be asked heading into the knockout stage: will the constant drama surrounding Ronaldo wind up being a distraction for the Portugal team in its bid for another big soccer title, eight years after winning its only one at Euro 2016? Roberto Martinez clearly doesn’t think so.

The Portugal coach is in thrall with Ronaldo, as shown by his reaction to the striker’s assist — his record-tying eighth at the European Championship — against Turkey.

“It should be shown in every academy in Portugal and world football,” Martinez said, purring at this “spectacular” piece of play.

A day earlier, he’d got into an exchange with a journalist who questioned whether Ronaldo could handle the intensity of a major tournament at age 39.

“All you need to do is look at what he has done in the last 12 months,” Martinez proffered, pointing to his record in the Saudi league with Al-Nassr, for whom he started 31 of 34 games and scored a league-high 35 goals, and his 10 goals in Euro 2024 qualifying — second only to Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.

Before the tournament, Martinez had lauded Ronaldo by saying he “approaches every day as a new way to be the best” and that his stats “are better than anything, subjectively, that you can say.” Maybe to justify his arguments — or who knows, to keep in Ronaldo’s good books — Martinez started the striker against Georgia despite resting all of his other key outfield players for a game that meant little for Portugal, which had already qualified as group winner.

It was at this stage at the last World Cup where Ronaldo lost his place in Portugal’s team, to the shock and anger of his millions of fans who might not see him play as much these days because of his move to the Middle East. He had started all three of the group games, scoring only a penalty, and reacted poorly to being substituted by then-coach Fernando Santos against South Korea in the third.

Ronaldo didn’t start the 6-1 win over Switzerland in the round of 16 — his replacement, Goncalo Ramos scored a hat trick — nor the quarterfinal loss to Morocco, after which he left the field in tears.

Given his public comments, it’s unlikely Martinez will follow Santos’ path and drop his captain in the knockout stage, starting against Slovenia on Monday, for what may prove to be Ronaldo’s last matches at a major tournament.

Nor do his teammates, who have grown up idolizing Ronaldo, want that to happen.

“We want to be side by side with our captain,” Portugal defender Diogo Dalot said, while midfielder Vitinha has spoken of the “privilege to be able to share moments with him on and off the pitch.? Ronaldo’s desire and passion clearly remains. He is still a prolific scorer, albeit mostly against weak opposition these days, even if his mobility and, in particular, his pressing isn’t at the level of a top-notch striker. It would be no surprise to see the top scorer in men’s international soccer — with 130 goals — get off the mark against Slovenia.

Whether his continued selection is beneficial for Portugal is another thing entirely.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Georgia breaks into the box whilst under pressure from Diogo Dalot of Portugal as Antonio Silva, Joao Neves and Francisco Conceicao of Portugal look on during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Georgia and Portugal at Arena AufSchalke on June 26, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Georgia staged the biggest upset in Euro history with a 2-0 win over Portugal on Wednesday to stride into the knock-out phase of their first major tournament, thanks to an early Khvicha Kvaratskhelia strike and a Georges Mikautadze penalty.

The win, albeit against a largely second-string Portugal who had already made it into the next round, represented the greatest result for Georgia since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Played out in front of tens of thousands of raucous Georgia fans, it was also the biggest shock based on rankings which put the team rated 74th in the world against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal who were ranked sixth and were European champions in 2016.

Having come a disappointing fourth in their Euro qualifying group, Georgia had to take a circuitous route to Germany, first by winning their group in the less glamorous Euro Nations tournament and then defeating Greece in a play-off.

But there was nothing undeserved about the way Coach Willy Sagnol, the former Bayern Munich and France defender, and his side claimed a third-place finish in the tournament’s Group F and set up a last-16 meeting with three-time Euro winners Spain.

When those two sides met last September in the qualifying stage for the tournament in Germany, Spain thrashed Georgia 7-1 in Tbilisi.

Georgia’s win also means that England will line up against Slovakia, Romania take on Netherlands and Portugal face Slovenia in the round of 16. Hungary, who had been in contention for a spot in the next round, were edged out.

In the other Group F match on Wednesday, Turkey booked their place in the last 16 with a 2-1 win over 10-man Czech Republic, who now head home.

Georgia, the tournament debutants, took the lead in the second minute when Kvaratskhelia, the Napoli winger, raced away after a careless pass by Antonio Silva and powered a low shot past Diogo Costa in Portugal’s goal.

Ronaldo — one of only three starters for Portugal who also played in their 3-0 win over Turkey on Saturday — stretched and strained for every ball as he sought to become the oldest goal scorer at a Euro tournament at the age of 39.

But Georgia defended as if their lives depended upon it and sought to catch Portugal on the break. In the 53rd minute, Silva compounded his earlier error by committing a foul in the box that was given as a penalty after a VAR check.

Mikautadze, who had provided the pass for Kvaratskhelia to open the scoring early on, steered his spot kick past Costa, making him the top scorer at Euro 2024 so far with three goals.

Ronaldo was booked in the first half for arguing and cut a frustrated figure when he was substituted after the break, kicking out at a water bottle. It is the first time in his long career that he failed to score in the group stage of a major international tournament.

Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili made late saves to keep Portugal at bay, and at full time the rest of the squad and coaching staff sprinted on to the field to leap and dance in front of their fans.

The celebrations were fully deserved. Georgia came close to snatching a draw with Turkey but lost 3-1 in their opening game and missed a great chance to beat the Czech Republic a few days later in a 1-1 draw, leaving them perilously close to elimination – until Wednesday’s historic night in Gelsenkirchen.