Cristiano Ronaldo belted out Portugal’s national anthem with immense pride and passion ahead of his country’s Euro 2020 opening fixture against Hungary – but did so while standing sideways.
As cameras panned to the Portugal skipper and talisman, he was at a different angle to the rest of his teammates. He was stood side-on, with his hand on the shoulder of goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
He’s turned side-on prior to a whole host of Portugal fixtures, varying from World Cup games to friendlies.
![Image: PA](https://www.sportbible.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=648,quality=70,format=jpeg,fit=pad,dpr=1/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-images.sportbible.com%2Fs3%2Fcontent%2F445cef9960c8e3a14b51737a6b0f3032.jpg)
Argentina goalkeeper Willy Caballero did the same in the 2018 World Cup, while the whole Wales starting XI took a leaf out of Ronaldo’s book when they were side-on as they got in the zone for their 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Saturday in Baku.
So just what are the duo up to? Well it’s a question that is being asked by confused fans on social media, but the answer is actually a pretty simple one.
In short the duo were standing towards their country’s flag as a sign of respect and patriotism.