Cristiano Ronaldo's Euro 2024 penalty decision slammed by fans as 'fumble' that 'cost Portugal the game'

FOOTBALL fans are convinced that Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo made the wrong decision by allowing France to take the first penalty in Friday's Euro 2024 quarter-final shootout.

Cristiano Ronaldo surprised many on Friday night when he allowed France to take the first penalty in the Euro 2024 quarter-final shootout.

The Portugal captain appeared to win the mandatory coin toss before the shootout, meaning he could choose whether his team went first or second.

However, despite analysis suggesting the team who go first have a far higher chance of progress, Ronaldo wanted France to take the first shot.

Les Bleus went on to win 5-3 after substitute Joao Felix hit the post with his effort.

And many fans believe Ronaldo's decision to forfeit the first kick played a huge part in the outcome.

One person took to social media to comment: "I know penalties are chance and luck (except for Germans) but there's been enough sample space to show that the team that takes first more often than not wins. Pressure easily mounts on whoever takes second. Ronaldo fumbled this."

Another was quick to point out: "The team that goes first has roughly a 60% chance of winning."

A third wrote: "Idk why Ronaldo let them go first in the penalties. It's such a mental barrier going second."

While a fourth said: "I'm not even trolling when I say this loss is on Ronaldo. He won the coin toss before the penalties and could have easily chose to shoot first and put pressure on France."

The team who go first in a penalty shootout have a 63% chance of winning, according to data from 11 Metre Analytics.

This is because the team who goes first sets the tone for the shootout and puts pressure on the team who goes second.

The team who goes second also has to worry about making sure they don't miss their penalty, which could give the team who went first a chance to win the shootout.

In the Euro 2024 quarter-final shootout, France went first and scored their first penalty.

This put pressure on Portugal, who had to score their first penalty to stay in the shootout.

Portugal did score their first penalty, but they went on to miss two more penalties in the shootout.

France, on the other hand, scored all five of their penalties and won the shootout 5-3.

While Ronaldo's decision to let France go first in the penalty shootout may not have been the sole factor in Portugal's loss, it certainly didn't help the team's chances of winning.