MUNICH, Germany -- Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't make the difference for Portugal this time.

The Manchester United winger, who scored the decisive penalty kick in the quarterfinals against England, failed to come up with a performance good enough to keep Portugal from losing to France 1-0 Wednesday in the World Cup semifinals.

"He did his job, and I think he did it well," Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "It was harder for him because France played well defensively and gave him few opportunities."

While France heads to Berlin to face Italy on Sunday's final, Portugal and Ronaldo will prepare for Saturday's third-place match against Germany in Stuttgart.

"I thought we were better than France. We just couldn't get the ball in the net," Ronaldo said.

Despite failing to get on the board, Ronaldo played well. Though he was doubtful to start because of a thigh injury that kept him from participating in some of the team's training sessions, he was the player who threatened the most for Portugal throughout the match.

One of Portugal's best scoring chances came after his free kick in the 78th minute. France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez failed to hold onto the ball, and Luis Figo headed it just over the crossbar.

The 21-year-old Ronaldo, who is on the shortlist for FIFA's young player award, was visibly in despair after the match. He walked away from his teammates with his head down and his hands on his hips.

He wasn't happy with the referees, either.

After Zinedine Zidane scored the game-winner on a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, Ronaldo wanted a similar call when he went down in the area trying to reach a cross. He claimed he was pushed by France defender Willy Sagnol.

"Anyone who understands soccer saw that the referee wasn't fair," said Ronaldo, who has a reputation in England for going down too easily to get penalties.

Ronaldo caused a stir during Portugal's quarterfinal victory over England, accused of influencing the referee's decision to send off Wayne Rooney. Rooney, a teammate of Ronaldo's at Man U, was ejected after stomping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho's groin after a ball dispute.

Ronaldo, who reportedly is seeking a transfer to Real Madrid, ran up to the referee to protest, getting a shove from Rooney in the process. Ronaldo was later caught winking to the Portugal bench.

The Portugal winger later denied reports of a rift with his United teammate.