Cristiano Ronaldo missed the chance to score the first goal for Portugal during the second-leg quarterfinal match against Denmark in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League. His penalty shot was saved by Kasper Schmeichel.
The missed penalty adds to Ronaldo’s struggles against Denmark in the first leg of the series, which Denmark won 1-0, even after Portugal’s goalkeeper, Diogo Costa, saved a penalty in the first half. Substitute Rasmus Hojlund scored the decisive goal in the 78th minute.
However, Ronaldo, who turned 40 years old back in February, couldn’t make an impact in that first match, registering just two shots on goal in 90 minutes. So far, he hasn’t been able to score against Denmark in any of his four encounters.
After the penalty was saved, Schmeichel had another one-on-one situation with Ronaldo, and was able to save the dangerous shot. Roberto Martinez’s team need a win if they want to reach the semifinals of the tournament, which they won in their inaugural edition back in 2019.
Despite his struggles, Ronaldo remains Portugal’s top scorer in the UEFA Nations League. He scored five goals during the group stage. He is also the third-highest scorer on the Nations League all-time list with 12 goals.
Portugal found the net
Despite Ronaldo’s miss, Portugal was able to score the first goal of the match after a corner kick. Bernardo Silva delivered a cross, Ronaldo couldn’t find the net before Joachim Andersen of Denmark accidentally scored an own goal. With this result, the series is 1-1 on aggregate.