Cristiano Ronaldo exited the Al Thumama Stadium tunnel in tears following Portugal’s 1-0 loss to underdog Morocco in a thrilling World Cup quarterfinal match.
The team led by Walid Regragui, which has conceded just one goal at this year’s tournament, made history on Saturday by becoming the first African nation to advance to the World Cup semifinals.
Youssef En-Nesyri headed in a Yahia Attiyat Allah cross to give Morocco the lead in the 43rd minute.
And that leap defying the laws of physics was enough to give them their greatest victory in their history. After the final whistle, Portugal’s star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, walked off the field for the first time in years.
On Wednesday, Morocco will face either France or England.
Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to hide his frustration on social media after Portugal fell behind against Morocco in their quarterfinal match.
Youssef En-Nesyri gave Africa the lead in the first half when he scored on a header while Portugal’s goalkeeper Diogo Costa was unable to reach the ball.
As expected, there was a camera on Ronaldo to capture the benched star’s reaction, and the 37-year-old sighed heavily before staring directly into the lens.
Cristiano Ronaldo appeared enraged as Portugal falls behind Morocco in the quarterfinals.
However, another Twitter user suggested Ronaldo was unconcerned by tweeting, “Care factor zero.”
Ronaldo was again on the bench for the start of Portugal’s clash with Morocco
Fernando Santos again opted to start Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick in the previous match against Switzerland, in place of Cristiano Ronaldo for the second consecutive match.
Portugal won their previous match 6-1, but they struggled to break down Morocco and went into halftime trailing 1-0.
En-Nesyri leapt well above Manchester City defender Ruben Dias and headed the ball into an empty net after goalkeeper Costa failed to reach the ball while attempting to punch it clear.
Ronaldo entered the game as a second-half substitute to attempt to save the match for Portugal.
In the 51st minute, Ronaldo replaced Ruben Neves in an offensive substitution.
In doing so, Ronaldo tied the FIFA record for most men’s international appearances.
He tied Badr Al-Mutawa of Kuwait with his 196th World Cup appearance, which will most likely be his last.
Ronaldo has not started the previous two games due to his angry reaction to being substituted against South Korea.
Manager Santos admitted he ‘didn’t like’ Ronaldo’s reaction prior to the match against Switzerland and subsequently benched him.