07/06/26 07:00:00
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07/06 18:58 CDT A stoic Cristiano Ronaldo exits last World Cup with 'clear
conscience' after Portugal loses to Spain
A stoic Cristiano Ronaldo exits last World Cup with 'clear conscience' after
Portugal loses to Spain
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) --- Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the pitch after his
final World Cup match for Portugal with a stoic look on his face and only the
slightest hint of emotion. There was a brief wave to acknowledge cheering fans,
and the same feeling he has had after past losses.
"Sad --- it's normal after being eliminated like this," said Ronaldo, who
briefly shielded his eyes with his right hand after the match.
The sixth and final World Cup for the 41-year-old superstar ended with a 1-0
loss to border rival Spain in a round of 16 game on Monday.
"I've given everything, I've given my best, and I leave with a clear
conscience," he said. "This is soccer, this is life for a soccer player.
Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose."
Ronaldo, the only player to score goals in six World Cups in a row and the
career leader in international goals with 146, said the day before that he
hoped it wouldn't be his final match in this run and wanted to enjoy it to the
fullest.
But he reiterated then --- and again after the loss to Spain --- that this was
his last time in the tournament that's played every four years. The deepest he
ever went in the World Cup was the semifinals in his 2006 debut.
As for his other future plans, he wasn't ready to say.
"Yes, it was my last World Cup, but everything else I'll have time to think
about, to be with my family, and not make any decision hot-headed and move on
with life," he said.
Ronaldo was denied a goal in the first half against Spain when record-setting
goalkeeper Unai Simn made an impressive leaping stop. That was one of his
three shots.
Two of those were on target, including the one on which Simn was still in
midair when he reached back to grab the ball with both hands. Ronaldo got off a
backward kick with his right foot after a header by teammate Joao Flix bounced
off Simn's shoulder.
"He is an example, a role model to follow. This is somebody that we need to
celebrate. We're talking about a football icon," Portugal coach Roberto
Martnez said in translated remarks. "There aren't too many Cristiano Ronaldos
out there. I think we need to thank him. His dream was to win the World Cup and
he did this as an amazing example in the locker room."
Portugal had never won a major international tournament before Ronaldo. The
first was the 2016 European Championship, before adding Nations League titles
in 2019 and 2025.
Ronaldo's finale on soccer's biggest stage came eight years after he recorded a
World Cup hat trick at age 33. That made him the oldest to have one, and that
stood until then-38-year-old Lionel Messi scored three goals for Argentina in a
3-0 win over Algeria on June 16.
The hat trick for Ronaldo came in a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group stage opener
that's considered one of the tournament's best matches, although both powers
didn't reach the knockout stage.
He scored three goals in this World Cup, and his 11 overall are tied for ninth
on the career list.
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