Euro 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo puts PK off the post in tie game

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo put a penalty kick off the post with a chance to take the lead over Austria.

Portugal was gifted a golden chance by Austria to go ahead 1-0 late in the second half.

Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take a penalty kick. An automatic goal seemingly awaited. But that was not the case.

Ronaldo stepped up and struck the ball off the left post, staring at it in dismay like it betrayed him. This is an inexcusable mistake for any player, let alone someone often deemed the best player in the world. On this stage, that ball has to be put in the back of the net.

Ronaldo was in the news recently for dissing Iceland after his Portugal squad drew with the island nation making its first appearance in the tournament.

The miss late against Austria will only continue to frustrate Ronaldo, who is nearing the latter part of his historic career. He has missed several opportunities to give Portugal leads in the early stages of this Euro 2016 tournament, and missing a wide open penalty kick may be a sign of things to come throughout the rest of the tournament.

He seemed to remedy the situation after putting a ball in the net, but it was not meant to be.

The missed opportunities led to another draw for Portugal and a missed opportunity to gain an easy three points in the group stage. Two draws to start the tournament mean Portugal needs to secure a victory over Hungary to assure a spot in the knockout stage. A loss may doom them, while another draw would leave Portugal’s fate in the hands of Iceland and Austria, meaning Iceland may get the last laugh over one of the sport’s living legends.

For more EURO 2016 coverage, visit our Hub page.