Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is widely expected to retire from international football following their 5-3 shoot-out defeat to France in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals on Friday.
It was a disappointing tournament for the 39-year-old striker, who failed to score in open play having missed a penalty against Slovenia in the last 16.
His only successful contributions both from the penalty spot in shoot-outs – the 3-0 win over Slovenia in the last 16 and Portugal's first spot kick against Frane in their quarter-final loss.
“Everything is too raw,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez, when asked if that was Ronaldo's last game for his country. “We are suffering a defeat as a team – there are no individual decisions at this point.”
It was a record sixth and final European Championship for Ronaldo. He ended the match consoling fellow veteran Pepe as the 41-year-old defender cried on his captain's shoulder.
“We need to go through this moment of our loss, which is very painful,” Pepe said.
Ronaldo, who plays his club football in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr, has yet to comment on his international future.
Here is a factbox on Ronaldo's international career.
Early days
* Born February 5, 1985 in Funchal, Madeira.
* Represented Portugal in youth football since 2001.
* Made his senior team debut in 2003, age 18.
* Played for Portugal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens at age 19.
* Played youth club football at Nacional before joining Sporting in 2002.
International career
* Ronaldo has represented Portugal in six European Championships and four World Cup tournaments.
* Ronaldo holds the all-time record for most international goals with 130 for Portugal and is the country's most-capped player with 212 appearances.
* At the 2004 and 2016 European Championships, he helped Portugal reach the final and won the tournament in 2016.
* Ronaldo made his World Cup debut in 2006 age 21, scoring his first World Cup goal in a game against Iran.
* Portugal reached the 2006 World Cup semi-finals, which is their best performance at the tournament in Ronaldo's career.
* In 2018 Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match.
* He led Portugal to victory in the inaugural Uefa Nations League in 2019.
* In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Ronaldo became the first and only male player to score in five consecutive editions of the tournament with a total of eight goals.
Euro milestones
* Ronaldo marked his European Championship debut against Greece in June 2004 with a goal.
* His overall total of 14 goals is the most at the Euros. France great Michel Platini is in second place with nine.
* Ronaldo was top scorer at the 2012 and 2020 Euros and won the Silver Boot in 2016.
* Having played in every Euros since 2004, Ronaldo holds the record for most tournament appearances and is the only player to score at five in a row. Portugal teammate Pepe and Croatia's Luka Modric are joint-second with five tournament appearances.
* Ronaldo has played 30 matches at the Euros, the most of any player. Portugal teammate Pepe is second with 23.
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Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 10am:
Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)
Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog
Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan
Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)
Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)
Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)
Court 1
Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh
Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
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Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
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1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 306
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 234
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 192
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 148
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 111
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 82
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 65
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 48
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 34
Maestro
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