Portugal coach Roberto Martinez hails Cristiano Ronaldo after a roller-coaster night against Slovenia in which the skipper missed a penalty in extra time and then scored in a 3-0 shootout win to help take them into the quarterfinals at Euro 2024.
Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears after his penalty kick miss in extra time left it 0-0, but he redeemed himself with the first kick in the shootout as goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved three to send Portugal through.
“He doesn’t need to care that much and that’s why I thank him for being the way he is, for caring for the group. I was certain he had to be the first penalty taker and show us the way to the victory,” Martinez told reporters.
“I think we all felt very proud for our captain. The dressing room was delighted with what he’s doing. I think he gives us a lesson, you know, that you need to live every day as if it’s the last one.”.
“You need to have high standards and not give up—life and football gives you hard moments, and the way he reacted is a real example that we are proud of in Portuguese football.”
Also at the end of an energy-sapping 120 minutes, before taking into account all the emotion of the shootout to deal with, Martinez and his Portugal team face a quick turnaround. Next up for them is a date with France—in Hamburg on Friday—who ended Belgium’s hopes in their last-16 tie earlier by winning 1-0.
“We don’t want days off, we want to be here, now we’re focused and focused on France. this Euros is red-hot, and three days is enough to get ready for the next game,” he added.
“France are very strong and things tend to get harder defensively, but in attack maybe there’s more space behind the lines. This one is a stronger opponent, and they can cause more issues, but it’s also a better opponent because you’ll have more chances,” he said.
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