The Portugal captain was denigrated for aiming for goal from an acute angle when he only sought to replicate previous free-kick successes from such positions.

Monday night, for the most part, did not go to plan for Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who was near inconsolable after missing an extra-time penalty in the Selecao’s eventual round of 16 success against Slovenia. 

While the 39-year-old redeemed himself in the Euro 2024 encounter in Frankfurt by getting the better of Jan Oblak in the shootout success, the forward’s four free-kicks caused exasperation. 

What happened?

Three of Ronaldo’s four free-kicks against Slovenia failed to hit the target, with one from a seemingly impossible angle going well wide.

The upshot of not dispatching any of the said attempts on Monday means the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man is 0-33 in his European Championship career for Portugal and 1-60 in international competitions. 

The only time Ronaldo has scored from a direct free-kick for the national team came in a 2018 World Cup group-stage game with Spain. 

While the Portugal captain typically stands over set pieces within scoring range, one in the 39th minute stood out given the difficult angle and the distance from Oblak’s goal. 

However, a user on X (formerly Twitter) — @Lushen_Munsamy — posted two previous times the forward netted from similar positions at Manchester United and Real Madrid. 

The first was in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers in the 2008-09 season and the second clip was against APOEL Nicosia at Santiago Bernabeu in the 2011-12 campaign. 

Even though Monday’s effort in the Slovenia match was farther out than the aforementioned pair, Ronaldo’s rationale is understood. 

What comes next?

Portugal seek progress to the semi-finals when they face co-favourites France on July 5.