- Ronaldo missed several chances
- Messi chants filled Slovenia end
- Portugal eventually won on penalties
WHAT HAPPENED?
One Slovenia fan could be seen at Waldstadion in Frankfurt holding up an Argentina shirt bearing Messi’s name and number 10. Many others were chanting for Ronaldo’s great rival every time the Portuguese icon missed a chance, of which there were increasingly many, during the last 16 clash.
Spot the shirt in the crowd đŹ#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #PORSLO pic.twitter.com/rLnrnSNyST
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 1, 2024
WATCH THE CLIP
Slovenia fants chanting Messi every time Ronaldo misses a chance/shot (which has been quite a lot this half). pic.twitter.com/ZjWPt5UtKB
— Phil Kitromilides (@PhilKitro) July 1, 2024
THE BIGGER PICTURE
At his sixth European Championship, 39-year-old Ronaldo failed to score in the group stage of a major international tournament for the first time in his career. His luck didn’t seem to change as the knockouts began for Portugal either, firing shots, headers and free-kicks either wide of the target or straight at Jan Oblak. In the dying seconds of the first half of extra-time, Ronaldo lined up a penalty following a foul on Diogo Jota. He had scored his previous 13 from the spot for Portugal, but Oblak was equal to it and parried the ball onto the post, leaving Ronaldo visibly upset and in tears during the brief interval. In the end, he had the last laugh though, converting in the penalty shootout as Portugal prevailed.
DID YOU KNOW?
It’s not the first time that Ronaldo has been mocked by fans chanting Messi’s name. The jibes have happened for more than a decade, notably cropping up at Euro 2012, Euro 2016 and in qualifying for Euro 2020. Earlier in 2024, CR7 even wound up with a fine and suspension from football authorities in Saudi Arabia when he reacted to such chants from Al-Shabab fans while in action for Al-Nassr.
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WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO & PORTUGAL?
Ronaldo and Portugal live on at Euro 2024, mainly thanks to Diogo Costa’s heroics, who made a hat-trick of shootout saves and a one-on-one stop to deny Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko in extra-time. They now go forth to the quarter-finals and will face Kylian Mbappe’s France in Hamburg on July 5.
