What was perhaps the last World Cup match for Cristiano Ronaldo ended in tears after Portugal was eliminated from the tournament in Qatar with a 1–0 loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Morocco became the first African country in the history of the men’s World Cup to make the semifinals and just the third team outside of Europe or South America to make the final four. South Korea was the last such country to do so at the 2002 tournament.
Ronaldo, who was the source of unwanted attention for the Portuguese team after he was benched for both of the squad’s knockout round games, left the pitch right after the final whistle Saturday. Broadcast video showed him appeared to show him fighting off tears while walking back to the locker room.
The majority of his teammates remained out on the field, stunned by the result of the match.
Ronaldo came off the bench for Fernando Santos’s squad in the 51st minute of Saturday’s match, replacing midfielder Rúben Neves to try and give Portugal an additional attacker while trailing 1–0. However, the 37-year-old striker failed to make a significant impact, save for a somewhat probing shot in the 91st minute that was easily pushed aside by Moroccan keeper Yassine Bounou.
Ronaldo, who was playing in his fifth World Cup, had said before the tournament that he did not plan to retire from the Portuguese national team after the event in Qatar. He remains at eight career World Cup goals, one shy of Eusébio’s national record in the tournament.
