What went wrong for Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. yesterday? As per coach Luis Castro, injuries didn’t help. Nor did the suspension of defensive lynchpin Aymeric Laporte. However, these are all more or less things that are outside human influence. But, one thing well within human control is the order of spot kicks. And CR7 coming in at number three was not a good move in hindsight.

Ahead of the game, the Knights of Najd were without 25-goal attacker Anderson Talisca. Even in the game, they lost three players due to injury! But, the fighting spirit never waned, and Luis Castro’s side ended normal time at 3-2. In extra time, Al Ain star Al-Shamsi equalized for the visitors, but Cristiano Ronaldo restored the lead in the 118th minute, taking the match to penalties.

It was expected that Cristiano Ronaldo would lead from the front and start proceedings. After all, the best players usually take the first penalty to put pressure on the opponents. Case in point, Lionel Messi in the 2022 World Cup Final. But to everyone’s surprise, midfielder Marcelo Brozovic stepped into the penalty area, and his attempt was saved. Unfortunately, Al Ain scored theirs, and the pressure was now on Al Nassr.

2nd to the spot was defender Alex Telles, but the result was the same as he hit the bar. Cristiano Ronaldo was next, and he slotted his penalty in ice-cool fashion. Yet, the look on Luis Castro’s face suggested that the tactic of having his best player coming in late did not pay off. Al Ain won the game 3-1 on penalties, and it was not the first time where CR7 was left late to take a penalty. The most famous instance came way back in 2012.

Euro 2012: A missed opportunity for Cristiano Ronaldo & Portugal

On June 27, 2012, Portugal took on defending champions Spain in the Euro Semi-Finals. On paper, Spain was too good. However, Portugal, under manager Paolo Bento, put in a performance that they had no right to. Neither side could net a winner, and the match went to penalties.

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Here as well, it was not CR7, but João Moutinho, who took the first one, which was saved. Pepe was next in line for Portugal, and he scored his. Unfortunately, the Spanish players were at their clinical best. Cristiano Ronaldo was about to come in at #5 but he did not even get a chance to take his penalty.

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It was because the scorecard by then was 4-2 in favor of Spain, and regardless of CR7’s effort, it would have been mathematically impossible for Spain to lose. Spain went on to win the tournament, and soccer fans are left to wonder what might have happened had Ronaldo stepped in first.

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