Cristiano Ronaldo Joao Felix Portugal ratings France Euro 2024 GFXGetty
Mark Doyle

Portugal player ratings vs France: Cristiano Ronaldo's rotten Euro 2024 comes to an end as Joao Felix's missed penalty condemns Seleccao to shootout defeat

There were no tears this time but it was sad to see the five-time Ballon d'Or winner once again reduced to the role of a passenger in the 0-0 draw

The Cristiano Ronaldo Show is finally over - and not a moment too soon. The last few episodes have been a seriously tough watch, tarnishing season after season of sustained excellence with one painfully dreadful and needlessly drawn-out final act in Germany.

In fairness, Portugal's Euro 2024 quarter-final elimination at the hands of a dreadfully dull France team was hardly his fault. Ronaldo stuck away his penalty in the shootout, which the Seleccao lost 5-3, with Theo Hernandez slotting home the decisive spot-kick after Joao Felix's earlier miss. But the point is that he shouldn't have been still on the pitch at the stage.

A braver manager than Roberto Martinez would have hauled off a forward who'd been a passenger in the game, touching the ball just 40 times in 120 minutes while extending his tournament tally of shots without a goal to a staggering 23. Instead, the Spaniard inexplicably subbed off Bruno Fernandes and Rafael Leao, who'd been far more involved and dangerous than the untouchable Portugal captain.

Below, GOAL rates all of the Portugal players on show as Martinez wasted a glorious chance to do something special with a talented but grossly misused group of players that were all criminally reduced to minor roles in The Cristiano Ronaldo Show...

  • Pepe Portugal France Euro 2024Getty

    Goalkeeper & Defence

    Diogo Costa (6.5/10):

    Portugal's spot-kick saviour against Slovenia was upstaged by Maignan during the game and was unable to pull off any saves in the shootout.

    Joao Cancelo (7/10):

    Understandably, wasn't given his usual level of freedom to attack because of Mbappe's presence on France's left wing but still played the pass off the match to release Fernandes, while he also got a sight of goal after the rebound.

    Ruben Dias (8/10):

    What. A. Block. Untroubled for the most part by France's forwards but came to his side's rescue by throwing himself in the way of Kolo Muani's goal-bound strike.

    Pepe (9/10):

    Recovered heroically from his shaky display against Slovenia, turning in a defensive masterclass in which he expertly dispossessed Kolo Muani on the edge of the area, got back brilliantly to stop Dembele from crossing the ball and produced a brilliant block on Mbappe.

    Nuno Mendes (7/10):

    Another assured display from the left-back, who always looks so composed, whether combining with Leao on the left or cleaning up at the back.

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  • Joao Palhinha Portugal France Euro 2024Getty

    Midfield

    Vitinha (8/10):

    Such a tidy player in possession and a constant pain in the neck for opponents, as he's always looking to pounce on loose passes and touches. Unsurprisingly won more possession than any other Portugal player. Should have scored from Leao's cut-back, though.

    Joao Palhinha (8/10):

    Bayern Munich have bought well. The defensive midfielder was once again calmness personified and constantly broke up French attacks, but was bizarrely booked for winning the ball off Mbappe.

    Bruno Fernandes (7.5/10):

    Played in a more advanced position and came close to breaking the deadlock on the hour, but his low strike was well saved by Maignan. His 74th-minute withdrawal was so surprising, given he'd been directly involved in five of Portugal's seven chances up until that point.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal France Euro 2024Getty

    Attack

    Bernardo Silva (7/10):

    Played so much deeper than in previous games, in an effort to help Cancelo deal with Mbappe, and that inevitably curbed his attacking threat. Created little - other than a decent shooting chance for Nuno Mendes late on - but predictably passed the ball well.

    Cristiano Ronaldo (5/10):

    Grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of service coming his way - which was understandable, in fairness. But when a big chance came, he just couldn't get his right foot fully around Conceicao's cross and he ended up skying the ball.

    Rafael Leao (7.5/10):

    Portugal's most menacing player by far, with the winger tormenting Kounde down the left flank. His crossing let him down at times, but some of the chances he created really should have been converted. Once again entitled to wonder why he was the first forward taken off.

  • Roberto Martinez Portugal France Euro 2024Getty

    Subs & Manager

    Nelson Semedo (7/10):

    Took over at right-back from Cancelo and got forward whenever he could.

    Francisco Conceicao (7/10):

    Replaced Fernandes late on and drew a foul from Saliba that resulted in a booking for the Frenchman. Also showed great pace and nimbleness in setting up Ronaldo for a great opportunity.

    Ruben Neves (6.5/10):

    Came on right at the end of normal time and kept things nice and simple.

    Joao Felix (4/10):

    Introduced during the beak in extra-time but missed a decent chance at the back post, with the forward heading into the side-netting, and then saw his spot-kick strike the post. A calamitous cameo.

    Matheus Nunes (N/A):

    Only brought on in the final few minutes.

    Roberto Martinez (3/10):

    Made some utterly bizarre substitutions (why take off Fernandes and Leao?!) and inexplicably left Jota on the bench for the entire match - but none of this is news at this stage. Martinez will point to the fact that Portugal arguably had the better of the chances over the 120 minutes, but there's no talking his way out of this disaster. His blind faith in Ronaldo has ruined his reputation forever.