Qatar: Cristiano Ronaldo left the 2022 World Cup in tears as his hopes of winning the competition for the first time in his career were dashed following Portugal’s heartbreaking 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Morocco.

Ronaldo was spotted being escorted by a member of staff from the pitch at the Al Thumama Stadium to the Portugal team dressing room immediately after the defeat.

It is the first time an African team has reached the World Cup semifinals. Ronaldo most likely made his final appearance at a World Cup as a substitute in Portugal’s round of 16 and quarterfinal matches after Fernando Santos benched him.

Morocco managed to escape a tense second half by repelling Portugal’s persistent attacks and holding onto its 1-0 advantage. Portugal had the majority of the possession time, but they were unable to score. In the end, a first-half goal scored on a pinpoint header from Youssef En-Nesyri was enough to win the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears as he walked down the tunnel after Portugal's loss. pic.twitter.com/FS6C7WMxbd

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 10, 2022

Ronaldo was brought on early in the second half of the match. With the 196th appearance of his Portugal career, Ronaldo matched Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa for the most caps in men’s international football history. Ronaldo has undoubtedly left his mark on the World Cup throughout the years if this is to be his final World Cup appearance.

In his 22 games at the finals, Ronaldo scored eight goals and earlier in this year’s tournament, the 37-year-old became the first men’s player to score in five World Cups, as per the reports. However, Ronaldo’s experience at Qatar 2022, where he only managed one goal, was somewhat overshadowed by his benching by Santos and his recent contract termination from Manchester United, which was made public right after the World Cup began.

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