An insight into the efforts of Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to raise the spirits of teammate Diogo Costa on Thursday has been provided late on Friday.
Both Ronaldo and Costa, of course, saw their names take centre stage in the football headlines a little over 24 hours ago.
This came en route to Portugal’s World Cup opening day downing of African outfit Ghana.
Ronaldo, for his part, made history in the clash, in becoming the first player in history to score in five consecutive appearances at the tournament.
Costa, on the other hand, came within moments of securing villain status across his home country.
This came upon the shot-stopper - a hot commodity on the transfer market owing to his stellar form with Porto - being caught in possession inside his own penalty area with just minutes remaining in injury time at the Stadium 974.
Costa, in the end, saw his blushes spared, allowing Portugal to escape on the right side of a 3-2 scoreline.
But the talented 23-year-old nevertheless looked inconsolable post-match, evidently still disappointed with his needless mistake.
One compatriot and teammate quick on the scene to comfort Costa, though, came in the form of the aforementioned Ronaldo.
As the pair made their way from the pitch alongside one another, the broadcast presence in attendance managed to catch the details of a warming exchange, which saw Ronaldo put his leadership qualities on full display.
“You have to laugh, we won, did you concede a goal?” the free agent hitman began.
“No, but he was close,” Costa responded.
“Then? You have to laugh, we win! Another victory and we go, you can laugh, let’s go! We won,” Ronaldo insisted in a bid to lift the spirits of his country’s no.1.
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