Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears on Saturday after his hopes to win the 2022 World Cup for the first time in his career were dashed.
The 37-year-old Portuguese superstar was seen being escorted off the pitch at the Al Thumama Stadium to the Portugal team dressing room after his team’s shocking 1-0 loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals.
This marks the first time an African team has reached the World Cup semifinals. Though Ronaldo began Portugal’s round of 16 and quarterfinal games as a substitute after being benched by the team’s coach Fernando Santos, he was brought on early in the second half of Saturday’s match, but to no avail as Portugal was beaten by the Atlas Lions thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half header.
Ronaldo’s appearance was the 196th of his Portugal career, equaling Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait for the most caps in men’s international football history. Despite his record-breaking feat, it is likely Ronaldo’s last appearance at a World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of winning the 2022 World Cup for the first time in his career were dashed Saturday as his Portugal team was shockingly defeated 1-0 by Morocco in the quarterfinals. Ronaldo was seen leaving the tournament in tears, bringing a sad end to his 22-game and 8-goal World Cup career.
Although Ronaldo made history by becoming the first men’s player to score in five World Cups and scored one goal in this year’s tournament, his benching by Santos and recent contract termination from Manchester United overshadowed his time at Qatar 2022.