WATCH: Veteran Portugal defenders Pepe breaks down after losing to France in Penalties

France made it to the semi-finals of the EURO 2024 Championships by beating Portugal in the quarter-finals. The match went to extra-time as both teams failed to break down the defence and score a goal. France went on to win after Joao Felix missed the 3rd spot kick, which likely ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s journey in international football. 

Veteran defender Pepe was hugging Ronaldo and crying as Portugal exited the tournament. While speaking at the end of the game Pepe said “Football is cruel". France were clinical in all their spot kicks as Diogo Costa who saved the three penalties in the last match couldn’t repeat his heroics. 

It's heartbreak for Cristiano Ronaldo in what could be his final major tournament 💔🇵🇹



Consoling Pepe. Comforted by Didier Deschamps. Down the tunnel and out of #EURO2024. pic.twitter.com/0W1kit8Ccw

— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) July 5, 2024

The French will take on Spain in the first Semi-Finals. On Saturday, England will take on Switzerland in the third quarter-final match while Netherlands will take on Turkey in the second game. The winners of each game will play in the 2nd semi-finals and look to make it to the finals. 

Is this the end for Cristiano Ronaldo?

At the age of 39, Cristiano Ronaldo is tethering towards the end of his long and distinguished football career. His patchy form has raised several doubts about his career for Portugal. 

Portugal will be next be seen in the FIFA World Cup which is still two years away. Even if Ronaldo decides to play on for one final shot at glory, it could be questioned by many fans across the world. 

Porto defender Pepe said at the end of the game “I won’t say it publicly, But we feel it a lot. Contrary to what many people think, we feel it a lot. We feel the frustration of not winning a game, of being eliminated in such a big competition as the European Championship, knowing that we had a lot of quality to go through. That’s the pain we feel.”

Roberto Martinez while speaking at the end of the game said, "The tears are tears of frustration. When you play against better opposition, there are no tears but this is hard to accept.”

Pepe ended by saying, “I will have the opportunity to speak in the future.  “I don’t want to speak about it (now) because tomorrow people might be speaking about my future instead of talking about this process.”