Misfiring Ronaldo, Portugal foiled by Austria

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a second-half penalty
as Portugal stumbled to a second straight draw
at Euro 2016 on Saturday after a frustrating 0-0
stalemate against Group F rivals Austria in
Paris.

Ronaldo set a new Portuguese record with his
128th international cap, surpassing the mark
previously shared with Luis Figo, but the occasion
will be better remembered for the Real Madrid
superstar hitting the post with a 79th-minute
penalty.

Hungary, who salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw with
Iceland, are the surprise group leaders with a
game to play, while Austria must win their final
match to avoid exiting prematurely.

Coach Fernando Santos sought to reinvigorate his
team after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Iceland,
drafting in Ricardo Quaresma to form an attacking
trident with Ronaldo and Nani.

William Carvalho was handed a start in central
midfield, while Austria coach Marcel Koller made
three changes, two enforced, with Sebastian Prodl,
Stefan Ilsanker and Marcel Sabitzer all coming into
the side beaten 2-0 by Hungary on Tuesday.

Austria showed early signs of promise, much like
in their opener against Hungary, carving out a
chance when a leaping Martin Harnik nodded
Sabitzer's whipped cross just wide.

But Portugal settled quickly, with Nani denied his
second goal of the tournament by the outstretched
leg of Austria goalkeeper Robert Almer after
breaking in behind centre-back Prodl.

Almer tipped a long-range strike from Vieirinha
behind, while Ronaldo spurned a glorious
opportunity to write his name into the history
books on 22 minutes as he steered wide from
Raphael Guerreiro's cut-back inside the area.

Portugal remained the dominant side and nearly
reaped their reward just before the half-hour,
only for Nani's header from Andre Gomes' left-
wing cross to crash back off the post with Joao
Moutinho drilling the rebound over.

Ronaldo then helped on a Quaresma header
straight at Almer and Vieirinha needed to make an
important clearance to keep David Alaba's driven
free-kick from finding Harnik at the far post.

Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio parried away a
stinging drive from Ilsanker within seconds of the
restart, but Portugal soon reasserted their
authority with Ronaldo leading the charge.

His thunderous left-footed strike from the edge of
the area was turned behind by Almer, and the
ensuing corner produced a similar result with the
Austria keeper beating away Ronaldo's downward
header.

Koller hauled off Alaba on 65 minutes, replacing
the Bayern Munich star with Schalke midfielder
Alessandro Schopf, but it failed to stem the flow of
Portuguese attacks.

And with 11 minutes to go it appeared Portugal
would get the goal their display merited when they
were awarded a penalty after Martin Hinteregger
wrestled Ronaldo to the ground.

But the three-time World Player of the Year was
left shaking his head in disbelief as he smacked the
ball against the base of the post to ensure his wait
for a goal at a fourth European Championship
finals goes on.