Cristiano Ronaldo missed a spot-kick last night which meant that his team drew against Iran and also meaning that they were unable to take top spot and now face the unenviable task of taking on Uruguay on Saturday in the second round.
Portugal’s coach, Fernando Santos, has revealed that the miss and the fall out from it has depressed the Real Madrid star who cut a despondent figure after the game.
“I understand, it’s normal,” Santos said when asked about his star man in the post-match news conference.
“The best players in the world face that [disappointment] when there’s no opportunity to really make [the difference], it happens.
“It hurts more to them than the others. They want to be the best and when they fail they get very upset.”
Ronaldo was lucky to even be on the pitch at full time after he caught Iran’s Pouraliganji with his elbow but after consulting with VAR, the referee decided that it only a yellow card.
Santos, however, said he was never worried about Ronaldo getting sent off, saying;
“I wasn’t concerned, It seemed like a normal thing in the match.
“The referee did what he had to do, went to VAR twice, three times and gave a yellow card. I’d have to see it again to make a judgement, but I think it did its job.”