Cristiano Ronaldo clearly looked angry and disappointed when he was pulled off the field by coach Roberto Martinez, in the context that Portugal desperately needed a goal against Georgia in the match at dawn on June 27.
The Georgia team created the most unbelievable story at EURO 2024 when they defeated Portugal to win a ticket to the round of 16, in their first appearance at the most prestigious playground in European football. Coach Willy Sagnol’s team played tight defense and sharp counterattacks, forcing Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates to play supporting roles in the match at Veltins Arena.
While Georgia had two goals scored by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze, Portugal, with many good players in аttаck such as Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos, or Diogo Jota, was completely “muted”.
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Ronaldo had 3 dangerous situations in this match, with a direct free kιck that forced goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to push the ball out of dаnger, a sharp escape that bounced off the Georgia defender, or a situation where the Portuguese striker ran back. far from Georgia’s goal but could not head the ball because the ball had drifted out of bounds.
Ronaldo’s effort was not enough to bring a goal. In the match, Georgia defended very disciplined. Portugal’s number 7 even received a yellow card in the first half for reacting after he fell in the penalty area due to his shirt being pulled by a Georgia player. The 39-year-old striker ended the group stage without scoring any goals, so he could not extend his record of 15 goals at EURO.
The controversial moment took place in the 66th minute, when coach Roberto Martinez took Ronaldo off the field. When the referee held up the electronic board, Ronaldo appeared surprised and disappointed. The Portuguese striker angrily left the field, then hugged his head on the bench. This was the time when Portugal was losing 0-2, but instead of continuing to trust Ronaldo, coach Martinez took him off to replace Goncalo Ramos on the field.
However, coach Martinez’s decision to replace people was not effective. Ramos played lacklusterly, and Portugal could not score, accepting a 0-2 loss to rookie Georgia.
In the round of 16 of EURO 2024, Portugal will face Slovenia, the team ranked third in Group C with 3 draws against England, Denmark and Serbia.