Portugal’s World Cup dream collapsed, and its stars headed home with their hopes in pieces. The mood across the squad was unmistakable — they expected more from themselves. The tears from Cristiano Ronaldo after the final whistle said everything. Bernardo Silva was another who felt the sting of disappointment.

The 31‑year‑old forward shared his thoughts in a message posted to his social media accounts — notably, a full week after Portugal’s elimination, a sign of how deeply the loss affected him.

“A frustrating World Cup and a huge disappointment that it ended so soon, earlier than any of us imagined. It was, and always will be, a great honor to represent our National Team. Thank you to all the Portuguese people for the support and the hope you placed in us,” he wrote.

Even with time to process, the pain was still visible.

Silva, born in Lisbon, sees the World Cup slip away once again — one of the few major trophies missing from his résumé. He played an important role for Roberto Martínez throughout the tournament, though he wasn’t an automatic starter.

He appeared in five of Portugal’s six matches, missing only the group‑stage finale against Colombia. In the decisive showdown with Spain — Portugal’s final game — he was on the field for just seven minutes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, coming on for Vitinha.

A bittersweet farewell for one of Portugal’s defining players of his generation.

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