Ronaldo hopes to end his goal drought in Euro

Ronaldo is still waiting for his opening goal in France to become the first person to score at four consecutive European championship finals. The 31-year-old is the holder of numerous goal-scoring records, but he has yet to hit the net at Euro 2016, despite 20 chances so far. 

Ronaldo set a new Portuguese record with his 128th international cap in Saturday’s goalless draw with Austria — a milestone overshadowed by his penalty miss. He crashed a 79th-minute spot-kick against the post in Paris having also failed to score in the 1-1 draw with Iceland last Tuesday. The star that fans either love or hate won few Icelandic friends by slamming their team’s “small mentality” after the draw. This has been a frustrating tournament for Ronaldo. His Portugal side has failed to live up to their pre-tournament billing as Group F favourites.

For Ireland to reach the knockout stages they must achieve something they haven’t done in 28 years — win a game at the Championship. Martin O’Neill’s team face an Italian side already guaranteed top finish in Group E and manager Antonio Conte is likely to field many of his reserves. Group rivals Sweden and Belgium meet at the same time, with the Swedes aiming to finish second in the group by beating the side who hammered Ireland 3-0 last time out.