Two matchdays have been completed at UEFA Euro 2016 but the tournament has not been kind to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugal captain came into the tournament looking to become the first player to score in four different editions of the Euros. However, he is yet to find the mark after draws with Iceland and Austria.
Last night’s 0-0 draw leaves Portugal in a precarious position in Group F. Hungary top the group with four points while Iceland and Portugal have only two. Austria are at the bottom with one; meaning anyone can still top the group or get knocked out on matchday 3.
Ronaldo had the best chance of the game to put Portugal in the lead when he was brought down in the box in the 78th minute. However, his woes from the penalty spot this season have followed him to the quadrennial summer tournament as his shot beat the goalkeeper but came off the post. It was the 16th penalty miss of his career (excluding shootouts).
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Ronaldo had helped Real Madrid seal their 11th Champions League crown after converting the final kick in the penalty shootout in Milan against Atletico Madrid. However, the penalty miss against Austria on Saturday was his fifth penalty miss of the season (excluding shootouts) – his worst record yet.
It does not bode well for the player who is the first choice for both club and country. The 31-year-old, who was once upon a time the king of set pieces, scoring almost at will with a low failure rate. But lately, he has struggled to find the back of the net from both penalties and free-kicks, especially in the 2015/16 season.
Since he started taking penalties for the teams he has played for – be it Manchester United, Real Madrid or Portugal – he has only converted all penalties in a season three times. His best season was the 2010/11 season with Real Madrid when he converted all nine penalties. But he did score 15 goals from the spot in the 2011/12 season, missing just twice.
If one includes penalties missed in shootouts, Ronaldo has missed a total of 19 penalties in his career – the same as his arch-rival in the Ballon d’Or race, Lionel Messi. However, Messi has taken 23 fewer penalties than his La Liga counterpart.
Some of Ronaldo’s iconic penalty misses in shootouts include the 2008 Champions League final where Manchester United beat Chelsea and the 2011/12 Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich which Real Madrid lost.
| Season | Penalties | Scored | Missed | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005/06 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| 2006/07 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83.3% |
| 2007/08 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75% |
| 2008/09 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% |
| 2009/10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% |
| 2010/11 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 100% |
| 2011/12 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 88.2% |
| 2012/13 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 87.5% |
| 2013/14 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 90.9% |
| 2014/15 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 82.4% |
| 2015/16* | 13 | 8 | 5 | 61.5% |
*Stats taken from TransferMarkt and updated as of 19 June 2016
