- France beat Portugal 5-3 in a penalty shootout to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024
- Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be the first to let France go in the shoot-out
- Listen to It’s all about to begin! EUROS DAILY: Is Kylian Mbappé as good as we thought?
Fans have criticised Cristiano Ronaldo for allowing France to take first place in the penalty shootout for Euro 2024, while Portugal were sent out of the tournament.
Penalties were needed to separate France and Portugal after the last eight matches had ended in a 0-0 draw in a repeat of the Euro 2016 final.
Ronaldo appeared to have won the toss from fellow captain Kylian Mbappe, with the 39-year-old allowing France to decide first in the shoot-outs.
France eventually won 5-3 on penalties, with Joao Felix seeing his shot hit the post.
Fans questioned why Ronaldo had allowed France to start first, claiming that his decision gave Portugal’s rivals a huge advantage.
Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to give France the first penalty of the shootout
Joao Felix hit the crossbar for the only missed penalty in the shootout with France
France reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after converting their five penalties
“Why did Ronaldo let France go first? Normally the first one wins lol,” one fan posted on social media.
‘If Ronaldo let France go first after winning the toss, their chances of winning changed by 20%,’ claimed another.
A third wrote: ‘Ronaldo let them go first even though the first shooters win 71% of the time?????’
Previous research has shown that teams that go first in international shoot-outs have a 20 percent higher chance of winning.
The research was conducted by a scientist who analyzed 1,000 professional penalty kicks.
Fans on social media suggested Ronaldo’s decision had given France a big advantage
The defeat ended Ronaldo’s last participation in the European Championship
The reason for the fluctuation is said to be that players in second place were under more pressure, making them more likely to miss their penalty.
However, according to Geir Jordet, professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, the gap has narrowed in recent years.
Jordet, the author of the recently published book ‘Pressure: Lessons from the Psychology of the Penalty Shoot-out’, claimed ahead of Euro 2024 that the ratio between first and second goals was almost equal.
The study, which covered all men’s matches over 11 years, found that teams shot first 48.83 percent of the time.
