Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal captain’s free-kicks are wasteful, but his all-round game is costing his country at Euro 2024 | Football News

Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal captain’s free-kicks are wasteful, but his all-round game is costing his country at Euro 2024 | Football News


Fifty-seven, missed. Fifty-eight, missed. Fifty-nine, missed. Sixty, missed. Maybe time to let someone else have a go Cristiano?

Far be it from any journalist to tell arguably Portugal’s best-ever player – scratch that, perhaps the world’s best – what to do.

But Cristiano Ronaldo’s unwavering self-belief in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary is the elephant in the stadium at this point.

Another four free-kick shots against Slovenia on Monday night, none scored. No question over who was taking each set-piece and, although his team-mates humoured the idea he might cross this one, there was no question where it was ending up.

But the 39-year-old’s eye-opening record of one goal out of 60 attempts from dead-balls is a sideshow. It dates back two decades. Eric Dier has a better track record at international tournaments, but you would still rather have Ronaldo up front.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner deserves better than to be the figure of fun he is becoming, the ironic question of ‘who’s going to take this, then?’ every time a Portugal player is fouled within shooting distance of the opposition box, although impossibly wide angles are not out of the question either.

His extraordinary legacy is in no danger but, at what he has now admitted will be his final Euros, this is not how Portugal’s favourite son is meant to bow out.

The free-kick stats make for good memes, but his impact on Portugal’s hopes are a greater problem. Neither he nor his country can move on from his glory days, like a crooner returning for one encore too many.

Even in his 11th major tournament he remains the man Portugal build their side around, but, unlike most of the previous 10, there is little justification or reward.

He has scored in each of those other tournaments, driving his country on to reach four semi-finals and two finals across 20 years. In most he was either on the rise or at his world-leading pomp, far from the shadow of himself he is now.

The aged, limited Ronaldo has registered an xG at Euro 2024 more than three times that of anyone else in the Portugal squad. He would still be comfortably ahead if he had not missed a penalty in that last-16 win over Slovenia.

By the time that game had finished, he had racked up more shots across the tournament than Scotland. Even they managed to score twice, while he searches in vain to continue his clean sweep. He has had five more shots than any other player in Germany.

The tears streaming down his face after that penalty miss masked a pain deeper than a man dwelling on that squandered spot-kick. He has already blanked twice from the spot in previous tournaments.

Portugal's forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo (R) reacts to a missed penalty kick during the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between Portugal and Slovenia at the Frankfurt Arena in Frankfurt am Main on July 1, 2024. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
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Ronaldo was left in tears after his missed penalty against Slovenia

It was the reaction of a man who somewhere, begrudgingly, is slowly coming to a realisation already obvious to the outside world that he cannot quite cut it any more.

There were jokes that he might still turn out as a 43-year-old at the next Euros, made with a hint of earnestness – he is the epitome of a man who does not know when he is done. But even he acknowledged his own mortality after Monday’s game by admitting for the first time this will be his swan-song.

“It is, without doubt, my last Euros,” he told O Jogo before offering an insight into his tears. “I don’t get emotional about that, I get emotional about everything that football involves.”

“I will always give my best for this shirt, whether I fail or not,” he later added.

That honesty, and those tears, have followed a tournament of growing despair to this point. All the way back to facing the Czech Republic in their opening game, when he missed a number of chances and saw his assist for a Diogo Jota goal ruled out for offside when he timed his run too early.

He is the only outfield player to have started all four matches, but by the time of facing Slovenia the frustration had got too much. The spring absent from his jump to meet two Bernardo Silva crosses he would have buried for most of his career. The terrible free-kicks. The penalty. The weak shot which should have won it late on but was easily saved.

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The calls for Ronaldo to sit out Friday’s quarter-final with France will only get louder for it. Fernando Santos took him out for the World Cup last-16 game with Switzerland in 2022, and replacement Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win.

But the PSG forward has played only 24 minutes in Germany so far, while Roberto Martinez shows no signs of following his predecessor in dropping the figurehead of his country.

“He’s a constant example for us,” Martinez said on Monday evening. “I thank him for being the way he is, for caring for the group, for being someone after missing a penalty that he was the first penalty-taker (in the shoot-out).

“I was certain he had to be the first penalty-taker and show us the way to the victory.”

Ronaldo’s confidence in picking himself up to take that first spot-kick in Portugal’s shoot-out win was admirable.

But if Portugal are to beat France in a rematch of their 2016 final triumph, with Martinez’s blessing Ronaldo will need a touch of his old trademark magic rather than what he has shown so far.

If such a thing still exists.

Cristiano Ronaldo wasteful as Portugal beat Czech Republic, Turkey raise more questions than answers – Euro 2024 hits and misses | Football News

Cristiano Ronaldo wasteful as Portugal beat Czech Republic, Turkey raise more questions than answers – Euro 2024 hits and misses | Football News


Ronaldo wasteful on milestone appearance

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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the final whistle

Another piece of history in the extraordinary career of Cristiano Ronaldo. Named in Portugal’s starting line-up against Czech Republic, he became the first player feature at a sixth European Championship. He just lacked a goal to mark the occasion.

At times, during the first half in particular, he looked sluggish, repeatedly out of position for crosses into the box as Roberto Martinez’s star-studded Portugal side laboured in the final third, despite dominating possession from the outset.

Still, though, the 39-year-old had their best chances, spurning a one-on-one chance from a Bruno Fernandes pass, then seeing a diagonal effort parried in first-half stoppage time. Earlier, there was a decent headed opportunity he sent bobbling past the post.

Ronaldo was prolific in Portugal’s qualifying campaign, top-scoring with 10 goals, but, away from the rigours of European football in Saudi Arabia, it appears he may need a little time to get back up to full speed at this tournament.

He almost provided a match-winning moment, his header steered into the net by Diogo Jota after coming back off the post, but an offside call against him meant that was left to Portugal’s new generation, with Francisco Conceicao the hero on this occasion.

Ronaldo relished the outcome, celebrating the victory with his team-mates after the final whistle. But there is no doubt he will be eager to make his own mark. Even now, in the twilight of his career, and despite a frustrating start to the tournament, you would not bet against him doing it in the games to come.
Nick Wright

Hasek lets young Czechs run free in plucky defeat

Lukas Provod (right) celebrates his opening goal for the Czech Republic against Portugal
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Lukas Provod (right) celebrates his opening goal for the Czech Republic against Portugal

There was little reason to believe the Czech Republic would get anything out of their opening game with dark horses Portugal.

Their manager had been fired since their last competitive game, they stuttered through qualifying to finish behind Albania as the joint-lowest goalscorers to reach the finals and they arrived in Germany with the youngest of all 24 squads.

Ivan Hasek has chosen to build his side around domestic players, and 15 of his 26-man squad play their club football in the Czech Republic. Nine of those had 10 caps or fewer coming into the tournament.

But with youth and inexperience sometimes comes a fearlessness. An exuberance untainted by previous failure, and the character on display in Leipzig would have impressed plenty back home who had little idea what to expect.

The result did owe a lot to a profligate Portugal side, as Nick Wright touches on above with Ronaldo a particular culprit.

But the Czech back three was relatively stoic, the forward line looked threatening on the break – and scored a well-worked opening goal – and most impressively, Hasek’s side stuck in there, bided their time and played a mature game, arguably beyond their years.

Tactical tweaks and nuances will come with time, especially with two more winnable group games to come. But the Czechs’ attitude and commitment, the lack of which played its part in Jaroslav Silhavy’s sacking last year, is more difficult to coach.

That will give Hasek, and the watching public back in Prague and beyond, the most encouragement that perhaps matching the 2020 run to the quarter-finals isn’t so out of reach.
Ron Walker

Georgia show no fear in gutsy first major tournament appearance

Georges Mikautadze scored Georgia's first goal at a major tournament
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Georges Mikautadze scored Georgia’s first goal at a major tournament

In the 34-year history of the Georgian national team, never once had the eastern European nation qualified for a major tournament – until they beat Greece in a qualifying play-off in March.

“I hope that taking part will bring both the federation and the nation of Georgia an experience that will spur us on to new feats in the future,” head coach Willy Sagnol told UEFA.tv earlier in June.

If their opener against Turkey is anything to go by, the future is certainly bright.

They weathered an early storm in a hostile atmosphere in Dortmund, found a deserved, historic equaliser and continued to push even when Arda Guler’s stunner put them on the back foot for a second time. There were even several chances to level again late on, before Kerem Akturkoglu added the late gloss.

The 3-1 scoreline did not tell the full story: Georgia had five big chances, hit five shots on target, struck the woodwork twice and generated an xG of 1.59.

The tests do not get any easier, on paper, at least. On Saturday, Sagnol’s side face the Czech Republic and next Tuesday, they take on Portugal. But if Georgia deliver similarly gutsy performances over the next week, they will give them both a run for their money.
Dan Long

Turkey performance leaves more questions than answers

Turkey's Arda Guler celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Group F match between Turkey and Georgia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Dortmund, Germany, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
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Arda Guler celebrates scoring Turkey’s second goal.

Turkey have a star in Arda Guler but they can’t rely on stunning solo strikes and open goals to avoid familiar Euros embarrassment.

Guler, the 19-year-old talent at Real Madrid, added to Mert Muldur’s superb volley with a perfect long-range curler to help his country to a crucial opening-game victory, their first in six attempts.

The pressure was on Turkey to deliver against Georgia – making their debut in the European Championships – after three defeats at a miserable Euro 2020 campaign. Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park was dominated by expectant Turks.

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Mert Muldur volleys in Turkey’s opening goal of Euro 2024.

Turkey had more possession, racked up 22 shots, had an xG of 2.70 and created five big chances yet still they were lucky to escape with three points.

Georgia had five big chances too, hit the woodwork twice and were the forehead of Orkun Kokcu away from scoring a 97th-minute equaliser. Instead, Turkey ran the ball into an open goal at the other end.
David Richardson