Stuttgart, Germany (My Sportsbook) - Portugal's Luis Figo and Pauleta announced their retirement from international soccer following the country's 3-1 loss to Germany in the third place match. "The only negative thing about this World Cup is that we're losing two great players, Luis Figo and Pauleta, who both made me feel at home in the team. I have learned a lot from both of them," Cristiano Ronaldo told FIFA's official website following Saturday's match. Figo made an appearance in the tournament's third place match as a substitute, earning his team record 127th international cap. Pauleta scored 47 goals for Portugal in 88 appearances. Both players helped bring Portugal to the World Cup's semifinal round before losing to France, 1-0. The team went undefeated in the group stages, finding three wins to earn a spot in the Round of 16. In the knockout stages, Portugal handed the Netherlands a 1-0 loss to move onto the quarterfinal round. In its meeting with England in the quarterfinals, Portugal narrowly escaped with a 3-1 finish in penalties after a scoreless draw. |
