Cristiano Ronaldo burst into tears as his World Cup dream ended in a nightmare against Morocco.
The 37-year-old was again relegated to the bench for the quarter final, having been dropped for the thumping win over Switzerland in the round previous. However, while on that occasion Goncalo Ramos stepped up in his absence, Portugal struggled to create any chances of note without the veteran striker on the pitch.
Fernando Santos called upon Ronaldo shortly into the second half as they went in search of an equaliser following Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half header. And he did have one chance to level the scores but saw his snapshot saved by the heroic Yassine Bounou in the Morocco goal.
While his Portugal team-mates fell to their knees following the full-time whistle, Ronaldo was first down the tunnel, with cameras showing him in floods of tears. Security guards were also forced to intervene as a pitch invader attempted to encounter Ronaldo as he made his way off the pitch.
The defeat will likely end his hopes of winning international football’s biggest prize. It also means that he will likely end his career having never scored in a knockout match at the World Cup.
As for Morocco, they become the first African stage to reach the final four of the World Cup and will fancy their chances having already beaten Belgium, Spain and Portugal in the tournament so far.
They will face the winner of England and France, who meet in the last quarter-final on Saturday evening. Morocco join Argentina and Croatia who will face off from the other side of the draw.
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