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‘Sad’ Ronaldo Urges Portugal To Keep Faith

The Uefa Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee has charge Portugal after at least one fan came onto the pitch seeking a selfie, following their scoreless draw with Austria on Saturday night, in which captain Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty.

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After belittling Iceland’s modest ambitions after last week’s draw, Ronaldo wasn’t living up to his own high standards in front of Luis Figo, whose appearance record he surpassed.

But the post denied Ronaldo from becoming the first player to score in four different European Championships, as did the offside flag in the 85th minute after Ronaldo had headed on a free kick into the back of the net.

“Fortunately he didn’t manage to score”, he added.

Portugal, who were knocked out in the first round at the 2014 World Cup, face a tense final match against Hungary while Austria will play Iceland Wednesday.

“I prefer not to talk about this subject”, Santos said.

If his team struggles again in its final Group F game against Hungary, Portugal could be going home early after also drawing its opening game against Iceland.

The next match is a final for us.

“We will hopefully be a bit cooler on the ball than we have been in the last games”, Iceland winger Johann Gudmundsson said.

“Messi, Messi”, sang the Austria fans gleefully after Ronaldo missed the target as he latched on to Nani’s cross into the area in the 22nd minute.

Portugal were fluid and inventive, with Ricardo Quaresma joining Ronaldo and Nani in a three-man forward line, the latter linking neatly with the excellent André Gomes.

Austria is off the mark after opening with a loss to Hungary, ensuring a tight conclusion to Group F. The team played really well.

Having missed a host of presentable chances against Iceland before lashing out at their “small mentality”, the 31-year-old, who comes into this tournament off the back of a sixth consecutive season where he scored 50 or more goals for Real Madrid, drew another blank against Austria on matchday two.

When Birkir Bjarnason scored a second-half equalizer to earn Iceland a shocking 1-1 draw in its first match at a major global tournament, the nation known for its active volcanoes erupted in patriotic joy.

For one moment, he got something right.

That was the case Saturday for Cristiano Ronaldo, the superstar Nike NKE, +0.45% endorsee who – along with his Portugal teammates – struggled in vain to put one past Austria and goalkeeper Robert Almer in their second EURO 2016 group stage match.

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Portugal coach Fernando Santos, perhaps understandably, did not want to discuss Ronaldo after the game.

Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo falls on the pitch as he vies with Austria's midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger during the Euro 2016 group F football match between Portugal and Austria at the Parc des Princes in Paris