Breaking: Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal knocked out of Euro 2024 after Joao Felix misses penalty in shootout
Euro 2024 is in the business end of the tournament and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were knocked out by Kylian Mbappe's France after a hard-fought quarter-final. The two teams were inseparable even after 120 minutes of football and France finally went through on penalties (5-3).
Despite the match ending in a goalless draw, it was an open contest by all means. Both teams were wasteful in front of goal on many occasions. Portugal ended the match with more ball possession and more shots on target but they missed some big opportunities, especially towards the dying moments of the game.
Since Kylian Mbappe was subbed off for France, Ousmane Dembele took the first penalty kick and converted it.. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up next and fired the ball into the bottom corner to even the scales for his side.
France and Portugal were inseperable until Joao Felix stepped up. The Atletico Madrid forward hit the left post to record Portugal's first miss of the penalty shootout.
Felix's miss turned out to be detrimental as France went on to win the shootout with Theo Hernandez scoring the winning spot kick for Les Bleus.
Kylian Mbappe and France will now face Lamine Yamal's Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on July 10.
Cristiano Ronaldo ends Euro 2024 with a host of records to his name in European Championship history
Euro 2024 was the sixth European Championship appearance for the Portuguese talisman. As such, he has already broken a barrage of records to cement his place as one of the greatest players ever to take part in the competition.
For starters, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest goalscorer in the history of Euro with 14 goals to his name and the joint-highest assist provider (7). He shares the latter record with Czechia's Karel Poborsky.
The Portuguese also has the highest number of appearances made in the competition with 25 to his name. Interestingly, the next two in this list are also Portuguese players Joao Moutinho and Pepe.
Cristiano Ronaldo also won the competition in 2016 after defeating France in extra time courtesy of a goal by Eder. The 39-year-old had confirmed earlier that this will be his last European Championship. However, there has yet to be clarity on whether he will play for Portugal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.