Portuguese player Bernardo Silva defended his national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday against criticism he received after missing a penalty against Slovenia in the Round of 16 of the European Football Championship held in Germany, clarifying that the emotional reaction of the Saudi Al-Nassr striker was "natural." Silva said: "Regarding Cristiano, we are human and he felt emotional when he missed the penalty. That's perfectly acceptable."
Portugal needed a penalty shootout to overcome Slovenia in the round of 16 after Ronaldo missed a penalty in the last minute of the first extra time, which was saved by goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Ronaldo successfully converted the first penalty for Portugal, which clinched the result at 3-0.
Silva, a player for English club Manchester City, commented on the missed penalty: "You want to help the national team and he felt he could have done better in that moment." He added: "In my opinion, it was a very good penalty (for Ronaldo) and a great save by Oblak. Then he cried a little, which is natural, and that's how people sometimes deal with emotions."
Ronaldo, 39 years old, who is participating in the European Championship for the sixth time in his professional career, has struggled in the current edition, and his inability to find the net thus far has raised doubts about whether he still deserves a starting position in Spanish coach Roberto Martínez's squad.
