Gary Neville said it was “horrible” to see Cristiano Ronaldo cry after Portugal’s national soccer team were knocked out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal were knocked out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup by Morocco, which inflicted a 1-0 defeat on the European heavyweights in the quarterfinals of the quadrennial event.
Cristiano Ronaldo started the game again on the bench as Fernando Santos made just one change to the XI that started in their 6-1 rout of Switzerland, bringing on Ruben Neves for William Carvalho.
Morocco took the lead on the stroke of half-time and Portugal spent the remainder of the game desperately seeking an equalizer. Fernando Santos brought on Cristiano Ronaldo in the 51st minute of the game. However, Ronaldo and his teammates failed to find an equalizer and Morocco emerged victorious at the end of the match.
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Gary Neville reacts to Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction to the FIFA World Cup exit
After the referee whistled the end, Cristiano Ronaldo left the field of play and headed towards the tunnel. Ronaldo was photographed crying as his hopes of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup title came to a disappointing end.
Gary Neville, Cristiano Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate, said it was “horrifying” to see the image of the Portuguese icon breaking down in tears after Portugal’s elimination from the latest edition of FIFA’s flagship event.
“I want to mention Cristiano Ronaldo because I saw that picture of him crying in the tunnel,” Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
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“That was a horrible image for me. That is the moment when she knows that his dream of winning the World Cup for his country is gone.
“We’ve all been there at the end of our careers, but he’s one of the best, if not the best player of all time. It was horrible to see him like this. He’s had a rough couple of months.”
Ronaldo may have already played his last FIFA World Cup match. The Portuguese superstar, now 37, will turn 41 when the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off.
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Meanwhile, Morocco, which stunned Portugal in the quarterfinals, will take on defending world champions France in the semifinals.
