Well, some saw it coming, and some still can't believe it. Portugal have crashed out of the FIFA World Cup 2022 following its loss vs Morocco and this, in all probability, was Ronaldo's last dance at the biggest stage of them all in football.
Morocco's En-Nesyri scored the 1st goal at the 42nd-minute mark, and after that Portugal just couldn't level it up. They tried. They tried with everything they had, but as they say, it just wasn't supposed to be.
Twitter, as expected, had a lot of reactions following Ronaldo's exit, which to many is one of the biggest heartbreaks in the history of the game. Because say what you want, after everything Ronaldo has done for Portugal, he deserved every bit of that final on December 18.
Ronaldo was seen in tears and inconsolable post the defeat.
Here are some other reactions.
Meanwhile, Morocco scripted history to become the first African team to qualify for the semifinal of a World Cup tournament. The previous three African sides to reach a quarterfinal were all eliminated.
Following were the teams to get eliminated -
- Cameroon in 1990
- Senegal in 2002
- Ghana in 2010
It was the first loss of Portugal at the quarterfinals in the history of FIFA.
Head-to-head details between both countries
- 11th of June 1986 - Morocco beat Portugal 3-1 (FIFA World Cup)
- 20th of June 2018 - Portugal beat Morocco 0-1 (FIFA World Cup)
- 10th of December 2022 - Morocco beat Portugal 1-0 (FIFA World Cup)
Ronaldo has time and again hinted that he will not really retire from international football post the World Cup, and has expressed his motive to play European Championship 2024.
Whatever happens next, remains to be seen. But from whatever we have seen so far in the World Cup, the time when Ronaldo finally hangs his boots up for good isn't far.
