Ronaldo and his teammates practice for the next match in the EURO qualifiers
The Slovakian goalkeeper does not blame Ronaldo
suffered a dangerous foul in the match against Portugal in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, but goalkeeper Martin Dubravka sympathized with Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I was impacted in the shoulder, neck and chest,” Dubravka said about the collision in the 0-1 loss . “At that time, I just closed my eyes and prayed that I wouldn’t get kicked in the face. When his shoe spikes came, I didn’t even look.”
Having received a serious foul, Dubravka did not blame Ronaldo because he thought any striker would rush after the ball in a similar situation. “Football and sports are like that,” Dubravka added. “After the collision, Ronaldo asked if I was okay.”
Ronaldo (right) kicked Dubravka’s upper body during the Slovakia – Portugal match on September 8. Photo: PA
In the 62nd minute, at Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Ronaldo rushed after the ball to score in the Slovakian penalty area. Goalkeeper Dubravka stopped it in time, but was kicked in the upper body by the Portuguese captain. The referee immediately issued a yellow card to Ronaldo.
Dubravka affirmed that he did not foul that caused Ronaldo to be punished. The Slovakian goalkeeper believes that with the presence of VAR technology, collision situations on the field will always be clarified.
Dubravka used to be Ronaldo’s teammate when he was with Man Utd for the first half of the 2022-2023 season under a loan contract from Newcastle. He only started two matches for the “Red Devils” in the Federation Cup, but was eligible to win the title. Meanwhile, Ronaldo left Man Utd in November 2022, after publicly criticizing the club and coach Ten Hag.
With his third yellow card after the first five Euro 2024 qualifying matches, Ronaldo must leave the next match against Luxembourg on September 11. This is a big loss for him as well as the Portuguese team. Previously, the 38-year-old striker scored five goals in the first five matches, including two doubles against Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and one goal against Iceland.
Portugal currently leads Group J of Euro 2024 qualifying with 15 points. Slovakia and Luxembourg are behind with the same 10 points, while Bosnia has six points and Iceland three points. Bottom team Liechtenstein has no points yet. Each qualifying group takes the top two teams to the final round taking place in Germany next year.
