Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez had nothing but words of praise for Cristiano Ronaldo after their shootout victory against Slovenia to progress to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
The Portugal captain missed a penalty in extra time but stepped up first and scored in the 3-0 penalty shootout win.
Ronaldo was captured in tears during half-time in extra time after his miss from the spot — which made the game sail into penalties but he redeemed himself and apologized to the fans in the shootout as goalkeeper Diogo Costa also made three saves to secure Portugal’s ticket.
“He [Ronaldo] 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 said newsmen.
“I think we all felt very proud of our captain. The dressing room was delighted with what he’s doing.
“I think he gave us all a lesson, that you need to live every day as if it’s the last one.
“You need to have real high standards and never give up – life and football gives you difficult moments, and the way he reacted is a real example that we are very proud of in Portuguese football.”
Following a gruelling 120 minutes and the tension of the shootout, Martinez and Portugal face anothe difficult test as they get set for a date with France in Hamburg on Friday — who earlier got the better of Belgium 1-0 in their round of 16 tie.
“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,” Martinez continued.
“France are very strong and things tend to get harder defensively, but in the attack maybe there’s more space behind the lines.
“So this is a stronger opponent and they can cause more issues, but it’s a better opponent because you’ll have more chances,” he concluded.
