sport news IAN HERBERT: Portugal required a moment of class but had no-one to provide it ... trends now IAN HERBERT: Cristiano Ronaldo's international career wasn't meant to end this way... Portugal's forwards were anonymous before he came off the bench against Morocco and there was no dream World Cup swansong By Ian Herbert For The Mail On Sunday Published: 18:01 GMT, 10 December 2022 | Updated: 18:08 GMT, 10 December 2022 Viewcomments The stadium clock had just ticked up to its 48th minute when he pulled off his training top in such a vigorous way that you really could not doubt the immense competitive intent. The cameras had massed around the Portugal dug-out before kick-off, gorging on Cristiano Ronaldo as he basked in his own exclusion again. But Portugal’s wretched, pointless, anodyne first half told you that he was going to need feature very seriously on this field if his nation were going to have the remotest hope. When he arrived, you said a silent prayer of thanks for the energy and electricity his sent through a dour quarter final in which his teammates’ fecklessness made Spain look like world-beaters, in their elimination by this hugely motivated team. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal crashed out of the World Cup with a 1-0 defeat to Morocco Walid Regragui's side became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup The fallout as Morocco beat Portugal Advertisement Ronaldo was powering away towards the dead ball line, within a minute of arriving - standing up a cross which no-one in white was present to take. An immediate break in play had him convene a committee meeting with Ruben Dias and Goncalo Ramos. The instructions, hollered above the searing whistle of the Moroccan fans who howled at the very sight of him, were basic. Portugal would play a quarter at the top of the pitch, with him at the core of it. Football has a habit of making fools of us when we generalise, as we must, and Portugal’s 6-1 in over the Swiss was presented as evidence that this King was dead. On hindsight, that assessment now looks wrong. We have reached a stage and standard of football which, by definition, requires moments of world class. In Portugal’s case, something to break the vice-like hold on the game that the North African nation held. In Ronaldo’s absence, no-one had it. The world reflected those few nights ago that forward Goncalo Ramos and the whippet thin winger Joao Felix were taking over the baton from him, though this match told a different story. The flames of both those players were extinguished in the face of such resilience. Ronaldo was in tears as he came off the pitch as his World Cup dreams came to a crashing end Ramos was anonymous. Felix could not make the slightest imprint on the red sea of jerseys before him: a shot with his outstep flew into a Moroccan defender and out of play. A snatched half-volley sailed over the bar. It was the man wearing a red number 7 – Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech - who shone a light across the first half. No-one can say Ronaldo didn’t play out his international career to the very end. When the Moroccan captain went down with the injury that would see him stretchered off, he was a concerned observer, burying himself in the forest of players who gathered around. He seemed to seek a part in any aspect of this game. The strategy was to bypass the red army, throw crosses up at him and hope that his leverage could elevate him to convert one. His jersey was stained with mud within a few minutes on the field. He strained every neck muscle to reach a ball hoisted up for him but it sailed above him and out of play. Another break in play presaged another desperate conversation - Ronaldo, Dias and Bernardo Silva shouted at each other this time, through the thunderous noise. It was moments later that he thought he had cracked open the safe, easily laying a Silva ball back into the path of Felix. But the winger saw the insuperable ‘keeper Bono rise and tip the ball over the bar. Ronaldo stormed straight off the pitch as Morocco players celebrated their historic victory When Azzedine Ounahifell theatrically to the floor, Ronaldo heaved him up. When a speculative pass was hit into the inside right channel, he left Jawad El Yamiq dead as he accelerated on to a ball in the right hand channel and fired off a low shot. Defenders ignored others as he dragged them in into his orbit. When he leapt for a cross at the end left Pepe unhindered and he put his header wide. It descended into a desperate business for a desperate team. The look in Portuguese eyes told you that they knew it was gone. There would be no international swansong for the player who has been the beating heart of this team for so long. The world crowded in at the final whistle – Moroccan players wanting to console him, a lunatic fan wanting to embrace him. But he marched straight off the field, head down, in tears by the time he left the field. It was not supposed to end this way. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility