After a game dominated by the Portuguese team, captain Cristiano Ronaldo's fifth European Cup tour ended.
At the age of 36, he may have completed his swan song in the European Cup.
Ronaldo bid farewell to the current European Cup. Image source: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
In the 1/8 finals that ended this morning, despite a number of stats ahead of the opponents, the Portuguese team still lost 0:1 to Belgium. Hazard blocked the defending champion in the quarterfinals with an unsolvable world wave. Outside.
Belgium vs. Portugal, this is the most gimmicky matchup of the European Cup so far-Belgium ranks first in the world and Portugal is the defending champion.
Ronaldo bid farewell to the current European Cup. Image source: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
This is a fierce, but not as exciting as expected contest.
The Belgian team converted the only shot that hit the goal frame into a goal, and then eliminated Portugal, who had shot up to 23 times. It has to be said that there is a certain element of luck.
However, in the case of successive losses of De Bruyne and Hazard, the Belgian team's players on the field have a unified mind, and the protection of the defense line is in place.
If Belgium used to rely on offensive talent to win the game, then in this battle, they eliminated the defending champion through tough defense.
If the two core injuries are intact, the Belgian team has shown a championship appearance.
The Belgian team celebrates victory
On the other hand, although the Portuguese team has more opportunities, Ronaldo did not gain much space in the sports battle. This may be one of the reasons why he was so lost after the game and even "falling" the captain's armband.
For the Portuguese team, the nerves that are always tense in the group stage are another kind of consumption.
It was not until the final round of the 2:2 draw with the World Cup champion France that Portugal went ashore with a "relatively better group number 3".
If it weren't for falling into the death group, leading to an early meeting with other strong teams after qualifying, perhaps the Portuguese team's road to defending could go further.
After the game, Ronaldo could not hide his disappointment
Some people say that Portugal's lineup is at the pinnacle of team history, even better than the "golden generation" led by Figo and Rui Costa.
On the frontcourt configuration alone, Portugal does not miss any team, which is why they rank 5th in the world.
However, in this European Cup, Bruno Fernandez and Bernardo Silva did not perform at their best at the club.
Including Ruota and others, these players have the ability to influence the game, but after all, they are still not running well and understanding too little.
In time, their performance in the World Cup and even the next European Cup should be more mature than they are now.
Data map: Cristiano Ronaldo Image source: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
Only then, I wonder if Ronaldo will stand in front of them.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, who is 36 years old, next year's World Cup is very close, but the next European Cup is a bit far away.
By 2024, Ronaldo will be 40 years old. Even if he can persist, it is impossible to expect him to be in the same state as it is now.
In the past 4 games, Ronaldo scored 5 goals.
His total number of goals in the European Cup reached 14 goals, far surpassing Platini, who ranked second in history.
In this European Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo not only became the best scorer in the history of the tournament, he also tied the world record for scoring by the Iranian star Ali Daei (109).
Ronaldo crowned the best scorer in the European Cup finals poster from the official Weibo of the European Cup
For Cristiano Ronaldo, the European Cup is not only the place where dreams begin, but also the place where dreams come true.
In 2004, Ronaldo joined the Portuguese team in the European Cup held in China, which was his first time on the stage of an international competition.
In 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo led his team to win the European Cup, which was the first major championship in the history of the Portuguese team.
If there is no Cristiano Ronaldo, will the Portuguese team still be classified as the favorites for the championship?
Everyone has their own answers.
Fortunately, like Ronaldo, Moutinho, Pepe and other veterans are still in good shape.
Next year's World Cup, they still have a chance to rush back again.
(Author: Yue Chuan)