Ronaldo out after an injury to his left knee. These are words that any fan of team Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo did not want to hear in the Euro 2016 final versus France. Least of all the Madrid man himself.
After an early challenge in which Dimitri Payet collided with Ronaldo, impacting his left knee, the Portugal captain went down clearly in pain.
France take on Portugal in the Euro 2016 final on Sunday in what promises to be a titanic battle.
Oh, who are we kidding?
Portugal are going to play the same blasé football that they have for the entire tournament, and we can only hope that France break their defense early enough to make them come out of their shell. Otherwise, get ready for a long battle of attrition, and possibly penalties.
Anyways, following that cheery outlook on proceedings, let's take a look at some of the interesting facts coming into this match.
The stage is set for the final of UEFA Euro 2016, and it’s France vs. Portugal at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. Here's how to watch on TV, online and streaming the UEFA Euro 2016 Final between France and Portugal.
Over 80,000 spectators will watch Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann take on Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Renato Sanches. The match kicks off on Sunday, July 10 at 3 p.m. ET.
Portugal were always favorites to overcome Wales and advance to the Euro 2016 final, but, for 50 minutes in Lyon, Wales appeared ready to upset the footballing hierarchy once more. It took an inspirational header from Cristiano Ronaldo and a fortunate goal from Nani for Portugal to overcome Wales 2-0 in their Euro 2016 semifinal.
Cristiano Ronaldo is very good at sports, and, more specifically, very VERY good at soccer. Mostly.
Ronaldo has not had the best Euro 2016 so far, but his Portugal side is still in the semifinals so there's time for him to turn things around. One great way to do that would be to let someone else take free kicks.
"But Ronaldo is good at free kicks," you say. Not right now, he isn't.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a chance to finally do it. Finally, Ronaldo has a chance to step out of Lionel Messi’s shadow and become the greatest player of his generation, and by greatest player of course that really means better than Messi. Sounds simple enough. All Ronaldo has to do is win something that has alluded both he and Messi for their entire careers up to now.
Portugal have advanced past Poland to the semifinals of Euro 2-16 courtesy of Ricardo Quaresma’s match-winning penalty in a penalty shootout.
The match finished 1-1 after 120 minutes of play. After an early goal by Robert Lewandowski in the 2nd minute, the second earliest in Euro history, it seemed like this game was going to be an electric affair.
The fallout from Brexit and its implications for the United Kingdom. The widening divide between United States of America voters siding with either Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton. The global rise in refugee numbers and the humanitarian crises facing us all.
No matter. Cristiano Ronaldo just wants you to look at his legs. Just look at them, damn you! These legs are going to solve the world’s problems, one highly toned quadricep at a time.
Portugal defeated Croatia 1-0 after 117 minutes of sleep-inducing tedium. To call it a tactical battle is to turn a blind eye towards both sides' lack of ambition and risk taking. A show that promised the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo resulted in 116 minutes of football without a shot on target — Ricardo Quaresma sparing us from the second shootout of the opening day of knockout fixtures.