Ronaldo is striving to rediscover scoring touch after 22 misses

PARIS — When you’re as big a presence as Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s hard to hide in the shadows when it starts going awry on the field. Ronaldo rarely does. The three-time world soccer player of the year hasn’t been short of scoring opportunities at the European Championship. The problem is that the Portugal captain has had 22 — but missed every one.

He even missed a penalty shot against Austria on Saturday just weeks after he won the Champions League with Real Madrid from the same spot.

Ronaldo — for years one of the most lethal marksmen — blasted his shot at the post.

It was one of 11 Ronaldo misses in the 0-0 draw, a repeat of the number of chances squandered in Portugal’s Group F opener when he complained Iceland was overly defensive in the 1-1 draw.

“I’m disappointed because I feel good physically,” Ronaldo said after his record 128th Portugal appearance on Saturday. “I missed a penalty, but that’s football. I’m sure we’ll be able to improve the standard.”

More specifically it’s about Ronaldo regaining the stellar goal-scoring standards that have served both Portugal and his club sides so well for more than a decade.

Aside from his problems from the penalty spot, Ronaldo has also lost his touch from free kicks. It was hardly surprising he didn’t score from his two free kick efforts against Austria given that he hadn’t found the target from his previous 34 for Portugal at tournaments.

And Ronaldo missed other clear chances, too.

His anguished expressions and sighs to the sky showed the Austrians were achieving their objective.

“That was our target — to get him out of his dangerous zone,” Austria defender Sebastian Proedl said. “If he is getting frustrated about this we are doing our job.”

At times, the 31-year-old Real Madrid forward has appeared like a fading force in the sport he has graced for the best part of a decade in a personal duel for silverware with Barcelona and Argentina rival Lionel Messi.

He still contributed 51 goals for Real Madrid in the recently completed last season and was the second-highest scorer in the Spanish league.