As it so happened, he was smiling by the end of the night, his tears long-since dried, though his flash of vulnerability may prove to be one of the lingering images of the tournament.
“At first I was sad, and now I’m overjoyed,” he told a reporter after the match (through a translator). “This is football. This is what football gives you. You cannot explain it, this goes from eight to 80. We had the chance to go ahead, I failed…I don’t know if I hit it right or not, but now when I needed it most I failed, after…having failed before on penalty kicks. So now I feel sad, but happy as well.”
But, he continued, “it’s important to enjoy progressing. We’re doing a great job, we’re here till the bitter end…We deserve this. Slovenia defended throughout the game and I think we’re all to be congratulated, especially our goalkeeper.” (Indeed, Diogo Costa will be getting his congratulations for days.)
Portugal will play France in its seventh trip to the Euros quarterfinals in eight years.
And while Ronaldo’s day job isn’t based in Europe anymore, get to know more Premier League footballers right here: