After Morocco's historic qualification for the World Cup semifinals in Qatar, joy overflowed on the Maghreb side, both among the team's players and among the thousands of fans who filled the Al Zumama stands, while in the dressing room of Portugal the disappointment was absolute, especially for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 37-year-old Portuguese star ended what may have been his last game in a World Cup in tears. Ronaldo, who is without a team after parting ways with Manchester United a few days ago, quickly left the pitch after the final whistle with a crooked gesture, covering his face with his hand, between shy sobs.
The man from Madeira began his journey in his fifth World Cup with tears of emotion, upon hearing the Portuguese anthem in his debut with a win against Ghana, and said goodbye with tears of sadness after signing a disappointing championship. He began by scoring 'the black stars' from a penalty, in the end his only goal in Qatar, and ended up being a substitute, both in the round of 16 and in the quarterfinals against Morocco.
Against the African team, Ronaldo came on to replace Neves in the 51st minute, when the player was already smiling at Morocco thanks to En Nesyri's goal in the final minutes of the first half. The former Real Madrid player barely took part in the game, but he had one of the best chances for the Portuguese in his boots in a shot in the 91st minute that Bono deflected.
His gray performance in Qatar was compounded by the controversy he generated when he was substituted in the defeat against South Korea that closed the group stage. He did not accept the change willingly and silenced a Korean player with an unequivocal gesture, although at the time it was interpreted as an insult to his coach, Fernando Santos.
"I didn't like it at all. I really didn't like it at all," said the Portuguese coach about his pupil, who defended his version: "The Korean player told me to leave quickly. I told him to shut up. He doesn't have that authority." Despite the explanations from both, Ronaldo became the center of attention of a Portuguese team that had its best game in the round of 16 against Switzerland (6-1) without the veteran starting striker.
Ronaldo will be 41 years old when the 2026 World Cup is played in the United States, Mexico and Canada, so everything indicates that his tears against Morocco will be his last image in the largest national team tournament. The best classification of Portugal with Ronaldo in the team was in the 2006 edition in Germany, where they fell in the semifinals against France (1-0).
The winner of five Ballon d'Ors has scored 8 goals, three from penalties and none in the qualifiers, in 22 games in the World Cups, of which he started in all but the last two. His greatest achievement with the national team is the Euro 2016 title, although Ronaldo withdrew due to injury in the first minutes of the final against France (1-0).
