Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that coach Paulo Bento asked him to take the side's fifth penalty against Spain on Wednesday night, and that he did not shy away from the spot-kicks.

The Real Madrid superstar did not get the chance to step up after both Joao Moutinho and Bruno Alves missed from 12 yards, allowing Cesc Fabregas to convert the winner for the world champions.

Ronaldo has spoken of his disappointment at going out of the tournament on penalties.

"I was going to take the fifth penalty but we missed two," Sky Sports quote Ronaldo as saying.

"It was just a question of me speaking with the coach. He said to me: 'Do you want to take the fifth one?' and I said 'yes'.

"Sometimes I take the first, the second or the third. I agreed to take the fifth.

"I hope Spain win the tournament now because I have a lot friends there and I play there and it will be a tough final for them.

"It felt very normal playing against Real Madrid players. On the pitch we are not friends, but outside we are.

"I feel sad. Losing a semi-final in the penalty shoot-out is always painful, but it is a lottery: the luckier side wins.

"I think it was a good tournament on our part. We did very well. We are amongst the best four teams in Europe and the only reason we do not reach the final is because we were not lucky.

"We have to be proud of what we did, but we are a bit frustrated because we know we could reach the final.

"I gave my best, so I am satisfied with that I did. We deserved to be in the final, but we were not lucky," he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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