Ronaldo on Portugal's World Cup 2018 exit: We leave with heads held high
Cristiano Ronaldo finished his World Cup 2018 campaign with four goals from as many matches as Portugal lost to Uruguay in the round of 16 (Reuters Photo)
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo's dream of lifting the World Cup came to an unfortunate end on Saturday as his team lost 2-1 in the round of 16 against Uruguay in Sochi.
The superstar footballer, who scored four goals in the tournament, failed to find the back of the net in the decisive game as Edinson Cavani's brace saw Uruguay reach the quarterfinals where they will meet France.
Ronaldo however, is proud of the way his team played in the World Cup and feels that his team should leave Russia with their heads held high.
"We must congratulate Uruguay because they are the national team that are in the quarter-final. I think we played a good game and maybe we deserved more, but in football, the ones that score the most goals win and they scored two, so congratulations," Marca.com quoted Ronaldo, as saying.
"We leave with our heads held high. As the captain of Portugal, I know how hard we have worked and we must be proud of the team," he added.
The Real Madrid playmaker further said that he is happy with kind of efforts put in by the players and asserted that this team will continue to win in the future.
"We go with our heads held high and we are sure that this team will continue to win things," he said.
"This team will continue to be one of the best in the world, with quality players, a young group, united. I am confident and happy because this team will always fight with all their strength," he added.
Cavani scored in the seventh minute and then again in the 62nd minute to seal victory for the South Americans.
It was a dream start to the match for Uruguay. Luis Suarez produced a pinpoint cross from the left and Cavani evaded the Portugal defence to power home a header at the far post.
Pepe headed Portugal level in the 55th minute, the first goal Uruguay have conceded in the tournament, but Uruguay regained the lead seven minutes later when Rodrigo Bentancur found Cavani and he curled a brilliant first-time shot past Rui Patricio from the edge of the penalty area.
Portugal dominated possession but their attack did not have enough bite to break through the Uruguay defence twice, leaving Ronaldo a frustrated figure throughout the match.
Ronaldo could not add to his four goals in the first two matches, failing to improve his record of failing to score in all six World Cup knockout matches he has played.
Ronaldo had an opportunity around the half-hour mark to score from a free kick 30 metres out but could only hit the wall.
Earlier, Lionel Messi was sent home in Argentina's loss, the other "GOAT" at this tournament was also eliminated. It was two weeks ago that Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the same stadium against Spain, stroking his chin after the first goal to imply he was the "greatest of all time."
There was no goal from Ronaldo this time. Everywhere he went, the Portugal great was hounded by two or three Uruguayan defenders.
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