Real Madrid News
Real Madrid youngster reflects on ‘worst moment’ of his career: “That was our dream”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with GE Globo, Real Madrid starlet Rodrygo Goes has opened up on the ‘worst moment of his career’ – the penalty miss for Brazil against Croatia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 22-year-old attacker, who revealed how close he was signing for Barcelona before joining Real Madrid during the same interview, admitted that he sees the penalty miss during the shootout against Croatia as the lowest point of his career so far.
Brazil faced Croatia in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. The game ended in a goalless draw in regulation time, forcing extra time.
Neymar scored for Brazil, but Bruno Petkovic equalised for the European nation late in the second half of extra time to take the match into penalties.
With Nikola Vlasic converting from Croatia’s first spot kick in the shootouts, the pressure was on Brazil to not err.
Rodrygo took upon the pressure on himself to step up and deliver the Selecao’s first penalty, but could not convert. Eventually, Brazil ended up losing 4-2 on penalties, with Marquinhos also missing.
Now, Rodrygo reminisced about his miss against Croatia and admitted that it was the most painful moment of his career so far.
“Was the missed penalty the worse moment of my life? From my career, yes. It was everyone’s dream to win the World Cup. I know I have a lot of Cups to play, but that was our dream and the way it was, how we took the draw and then the penalties,” he said.
“It was certainly the most painful moment of my career. I will always move forward, regardless of the difficulties that arise. It’s normal,” the 22-year-old added.
While Rodrygo might have missed from the spot for Brazil, he is not shying away from the responsibility and is now one of the main contenders to become Real Madrid’s primary penalty-taker following Karim Benzema’s exit.
Real Madrid were sent in a state of worry last night as their defensive options appeared to have fully diminished.
With Eder Militao already out on the sidelines, Los Blancos lost David Alaba to an injury in the first half of their game against Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It left Carlo Ancelotti with just two frontline senior centre-backs in Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez.
And by the end of the match, Rudiger was seen limping even though he played the entire 90 minutes.
Rudiger’s knock not serious
The sight of the German being in discomfort raised some concerns. But now, journalist Melchor Ruiz of COPE has provided a positive update on Rudiger’s situation which will come as a relief for Real Madrid fans.
As per the update, Rudiger was put through tests today and the results show that his condition is nothing to be concerned about.
All signs point towards the former Chelsea ace being available to play against La Liga leaders Girona on Saturday away at Montilivi.
This comes as a big relief for Los Blancos who would have been left with Nacho as the last man standing in the centre-back department if Rudiger too was injured.
What did Ancelotti say?
Speaking after the 2-0 win over Las Palmas last night, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti had indicated that Rudiger’s injury was not something to worry about, saying:
“Rüdiger is touched, it’s a blow, but we think it’s going to be fine for the next game. The Alaba thing is a problem with the abductor and I don’t think he’ll be there on Saturday.”
And that is how it has panned out with Rudiger’s knock not serious and the German is now expected to be ready for the Girona clash.
As for Alaba, he will undergo MRI scans tomorrow to determine the extent of his injury.
