Tearful Ronaldo departs with World Cup dream in tatters

DOHA: Cristiano Ronaldo left the World Cup in tears on Saturday (Dec 10), walking off down the tunnel with his dreams of winning the trophy in tatters.

Morocco earned a shock 1-0 quarter-final victory over Portugal, the north Africans' joy the stark opposite of Ronaldo's misery.

The Portuguese forward, 37, may never have another chance to win the game's biggest trophy, and his World Cup exit was especially bitter as he started the game as a substitute.

With another result Ronaldo might have celebrated levelling the all-time men's international appearance record with his 196th Portugal cap, but his final minutes were desperate.

As soon as the final whistle blew, Ronaldo left, heading down the tunnel with tears streaming down his face, ignoring the Morocco players rushing to their fans to celebrate.

"If you take two people that are the most upset perhaps it was Cristiano Ronaldo and myself," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

"Of course we are upset, of course it affects us, that's part of the game, that's part of the job."

Ronaldo won Euro 2016 with his country, albeit being taken off injured during the win over France in the final and watching from the sidelines as Eder became his country's hero.

The World Cup remained a dream for both Ronaldo and his country but they fell short against surprise package Morocco.

In a surprise decision, Ronaldo had been relegated to the bench against Switzerland as Portugal romped to a 6-1 victory in the last 16 and Santos maintained that plan.

However, shortly after half-time, with his team trailing to Youssef En-Neysri's goal, Santos threw on Ronaldo and Joao Cancelo, looking to their all-time leading scorer to bail them out.

Ronaldo struggled to get involved in the game, with Morocco swarming