Arlington: Cristiano Ronaldo heard the cheers while walking off the pitch after his final World Cup match for Portugal. The stoic look on his face and his brief wave acknowledging the fans showed this wasn’t the desired outcome.
The sixth and final World Cup for the 41-year-old superstar ended with a 1-0 loss to border rival Spain in a Round of 16 game Monday. Ronaldo was denied a goal in the first half when record-setting goalkeeper Unai Simon made impressive leaping stop.
Ronaldo, the only player to score in six World Cups in a row and the career leader in international goals with 146, took three shots against Spain.
Two of those were on target, including the one on which Simon was still in midair when he reached back to grab the ball with both hands. Ronaldo got off a backward kick with his right foot after a header by teammate Joao Felix bounced off Simon’s shoulder.
On the day before the round of 16 game, Ronaldo spoke to reporters for about 25 minutes and said he hoped it wouldn’t be his last match and wanted “to enjoy what will be my last World Cup to the fullest.”
The deepest Ronaldo ever made it in the World Cup was a semifinal run in 2006, his debut in the tournament.
Ronaldo’s finale on soccer’s biggest stage came eight years after he recorded a World Cup hat trick at age 33. That was in a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group stage opener considered one of the tournament’s best matches, although both powers didn’t reach the knockout stage.
