Ronaldo has taken 60 direct free kicks at the World Cup and EURO stages but only scored one goal. Photo: Alamy .

Despite possessing players with good free-kick shooting abilities like Bruno Fernandes or Bernardo Silva, the Portuguese team still causes controversy by always allowing Ronaldo to be the one to take set-piece situations within range of his ability to shoot.

Statistics from Opta show that perhaps Ronaldo should not enjoy this privilege. Specifically, by the end of the match against Slovenia in the 1/8 round of EURO 2024, Ronaldo had taken 60 direct free kicks at the World Cup and EURO stages.

However, in total, only one goal was scored. The only time Ronaldo scored a free kick came in the dramatic 3-3 draw against Spain in the 2018 World Cup group stage.

Going deeper into the details, out of 60 free kicks, 22 times the ball touched the fence and 37 times were blocked or missed the goal.

By scoring only 1/60 goals from free kicks, CR7’s conversion rate in the Portuguese shirt only reached a modest 1.7%.

Statistics on Ronaldo and Messi’s free kick ability at the national team level. Photo: Opta.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi, despite taking fewer free kicks than Ronaldo, has a significantly higher conversion rate.

Accordingly, the Argentine superstar has 5 goals after 53 free kicks at the World Cup and Copa America, achieving a success rate of up to 9.5%.

Not only poor free kicks, Ronaldo’s finishing ability at EURO 2024 is a big disappointment.

The 39-year-old superstar has not yet hit the opponent’s net even though he has scored 20 shots, the most among players participating in the tournament in Germany.