A few years ago he would have buried a hat trick…
Fans have flocked to social media to point out a string of horror misses by Cristiano Ronaldo, as Portugal limped to a narrow 2-1 victory over Nigeria in their final friendly match ahead of the World Cup.
Ronaldo, 41, may be finally showing signs of decline, as he shanked several chances that he would have easily converted even just a couple of years ago – never mind in his prime.
He set the tone after just one minute, shooting high and wide from the edge of the box.
Then, still just 8 minutes into the game, he had a clear run at goal, one on one with the goalkeeper, and put it narrowly wide.
But that was only the beginning of his agony. The worst miss – by far – was still yet to come…
As one of his teammates played a good cross and found him on the penalty spot, one on one with the keeper, Ronaldo swung a wild boot at the ball. The result looked like something that wouldn’t look out of place in a pub league down at your local park.
With the World Cup just a matter of hours away, let’s hope he can find his shooting boots before then…
