Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch in tears as Portugal lost to Morocco in a shocking match on December 10 in Qatar.
The nation in north Africa pulled off an amazing feat by dominating the Selecao in the first half and using an impressive defense to silence them in the second.
Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only goal of the half for the Atlas Lions, and Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to turn the game around in the second half.
At the beginning of the game, the forward from Portugal was notably kept on the bench, only making his debut 51 minutes later. In normal time, he had a huge chance to score an equalizer, but he couldn’t get his shot past Yassine Bounou.
Portugal was eliminated from Qatar by a score of 1-0, and Morocco won the spot in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals instead. As he was captured in tears, Cristiano Ronaldo did not appear in the least bit pleased:
This World Cup will probably be Ronaldo’s last, as he is 37 years old, and Selecao’s inability to reach the final will upset him.
The forward has racked up titles and trophies in England, Spain, and Italy, notably winning everything imaginable at the highest levels of European football.
Ronaldo will now have to say goodbye to his career without the FIFA World Cup, the most prestigious trophy in international football.
Why Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup clash against Morocco
Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup match against Morocco, Portugal manager Fernando Santos revealed that he was unhappy with Ronaldo’s behavior during their final group-stage match against South Korea.
Santos expressed his disappointment in the superstar to the media (via Marca) after the 37-year-old forward reacted angrily to being substituted:
“Have I already seen the video? Yes. It did not please me. I absolutely did not like it. From there, internal matters are resolved in this manner, and we now consider the upcoming game. The game has everyone’s attention.”
Ronaldo was eventually benched for their round-of-16 match against Switzerland as a result of this, and it came as no surprise that the 37-year-old was benched for their match against Morocco. In both games, he came on as a substitute, but he did little to help the team advance.