‘We shall return stronger’

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday he was "proud" of holders Portugal's efforts despite bowing out of Euro 2020 after the weekend's 1-0 last 16 loss to Belgium.

"We did not get the result we wanted and we leave the competition sooner than expected," the 36-year-old Juventus star and five-time Ballon d'or winner admitted as his side failed to match their 2016 exploits.

"But we are proud of our showing. We did everything we could to retain the title of European champions and this group proved it could still give the Portuguese people much joy," the former Manchester United and Real Madrid attacker posted on social media after Sunday's loss.

"Congratulations to Belgium and good luck to all the teams left in. As for us, we shall return stronger," vowed the veteran who at least could console himself with having matched the 109 international goals record of Iran's Ali Daei during the tournament.

Meanwhile, coach Fernando Santos said his players were crying in the changing room after their "unfair" defeat against Belgium.

"I think it's an unfair result but they scored and we didn't," said Santos after the game. "They had six shots, one on target. We had 29 and couldn't score even once. They had a shot from nothing.

"We came back and thought we could turn it around. My players tried their best but the ball wouldn't go in, that's football."