Cristiano Ronaldo claims he is ready to emerge from his Euro 2016 nightmare.
The Portugal star’s miserable tournament continued when he missed a late penalty in his country’s goalless draw with Austria in Paris on Saturday, on an evening when he was denied by bad luck, poor finishing and an inspired display by keeper Robert Almer.
The Austrians later admitted that they felt their gameplan to get in Ronaldo’s face and wind him up at every opportunity worked perfectly.
But the Real Madrid ace reckons it is only a matter of time before his fortunes turn in France – and with a last-16 meeting with England a possibility that would bad news for Roy Hodgson.
Ronaldo, who became Portugal’s most capped player when he made his 128th appearance in the Parc des Princes, said: “The bad won’t last forever.
“We need to believe that things will go better. If we win against Hungary, we qualify. And also the Portuguese people, the fans who love Portugal, they also have to believe in it.
“Obviously it was a goal to be the most capped international player, and also to be the national team’s top scorer.
“But I’m a bit sad, because this wasn’t the way I wanted to break this record.
“We had a lot of chances and we did well, but we weren’t able to finish. I also missed some chances – a penalty and some other chances – but that’s part of football.”
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