The midfielder tucked away a simple finish with just seconds of normal time left on the clock, prompting wild scenes of celebration from the Spanish fans in the ground. Portugal responded by throwing the kitchen sink at their rivals in a desperate attempt to force extra time. However, they were unable to find a breakthrough before the final whistle.
In the immediate aftermath of the game, Ronaldo was seen strolling around the pitch looking emotional with the rest of his team-mates.
At one point, he was shown fighting back tears as he gazed into the stands, visibly devastated that his dream of World Cup glory will never be realised.
Ronaldo, who is Portugal’s leading scorer and appearance maker with 146 goals in 232 appearances, insisted last week that he wouldn’t be sticking around for the next World Cup in 2030.
“Let this be my last World Cup,” he said. “It is my last World Cup and I hope tomorrow won’t be my last match.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker had previously refused to confirm whether the tournament would be his last, even though he will be 45 when the next World Cup is played.
“I will finish when I choose,” he said on Sunday. “You always ask the same question: is this the last one? We will see. I don’t want to draw attention to this, the most important thing is to play well tomorrow.
“I’m going to be perfectly honest, regardless of what happens tomorrow, Cristiano is going to be 1,000 per cent leaving with a clear conscience.
“I have given all I could to football, it’s my passion to play for so many years. I didn’t do it out of need, I’m doing well out of life. It’s about passion. I play for the national team and I love to play football.
“Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I’m not going to exert pressure on myself that I must win.
“You have to enjoy every match at a huge competition like the World Cup. I think I’m not doing so bad. I’ve scored three goals, others have done better but I think I’m doing not so bad.”