Messi and Ronaldo Saved by Goalkeepers
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both missed life-or-death penalties for their national team this week.
Confirmed, it happens to the best of them. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both missed their respective penalties that could have given their national teams a strong advantage. However, what-ifs don't matter, and the heroes of the knockout series between the two teams were the goalkeepers, “Dibu” Martínez and Diogo Costa.
Cristiano Ronaldo could have given Portugal the lead in the 90th minute and avoided extra time and penalties against Slovenia. However, Jan Oblak saved the penalty, showing that even Cristiano Ronaldo can miss in crucial moments.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentina national team and currently playing for Inter Miami, had a very similar experience to Ronaldo. The Argentine missed his penalty in the shootout to decide which team between Argentina and Ecuador would advance to the next round of the Copa América.
Even though both players missed their penalties, their teams were saved by their goalkeepers, who stepped up and made crucial saves during the match.
