Cristiano Ronaldo has sadly seen an end to his golden dream. In the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Ronaldo‘s Portugal fell to Morocco as the game ended 1-0 for the African team. The saddest story of it all was that head coach Fernando Santos decided to bench his captain for the second game in a row. Many believed that it was expected considering the impact his replacement, Goncalo Ramos had in the last game.
Morocco took the lead through Youssef En-Nesyri in the 42nd minute. Santos decided to bring on Ronaldo at half-time, but it was to no avail. The Portuguese went all out in attack but the Africans stood their ground against the likes of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix, and Bernardo Silva. The tournament has come to an end for them, as Morocco continues their sensational run.
Is Cristiano Ronaldo retiring?
Ronaldo has mentioned that this looks to be the last World Cup. However, he has mentioned to Piers Morgan a few weeks ago that he will not be retiring until another 2-3 years. If that happens, Cristiano will be almost 40 years old. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all, considering he still looks like a freak of nature at 37. Many believe that this will be his last World Cup though, as celebrities have taken to Twitter to react to Portugal’s loss.
🇲🇦🇲🇦 Congrats Morocco!! 🇲🇦🇲🇦
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2022
goodbye ronaldo love you forever💔 pic.twitter.com/mYd7kH5Q7s
— Speed⭐️ (@ishowspeedsui) December 10, 2022
Wow. Morocco win. Heartbreak for Portugal but what a moment for Africa and the Arab world. And so well deserved – they were fantastic tonight. 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/o5mlYnB7yC
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 10, 2022
Congrats to Morocco, congrats to Africa. Wow.
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) December 10, 2022
Proud 🤲🏼 What a team! 🇲🇦❤️ What an achievement for the African continent & the Muslim world 🤲🏼 Great to see such a fairytale is still possible in modern football – this will give so many people so much power & hope ❤️❤️⚽ #Morocco #WorldCup #Qatar2022
— Mesut Özil (@M10) December 10, 2022
This time for Africa!! 👏🇲🇦 #WorldCup
— Shakira (@shakira) December 10, 2022
It looks like many celebrities have come together to congratulate Morocco on their historic win. Shakira tweeted in support and wrote, “It’s time for Africa.” This is a reference to her iconic 2010 World Cup “Waka Waka” song as well.
To those who don’t know, they became the first-ever African country to reach the semifinals of the World Cup. It has been a wonderful tournament for them so far, as they march on to face the winner of the England-France game.
On the other hand, it has been heartbreaking for Ronaldo. If this is his last international tournament for Portugal, he bids goodbye to an illustrious career with his country. The 5x Ballon d’Or winner won the Euros in 2016, together with the UEFA Nations League in 2019, and scored over a ton of goals.