LVIV, Ukraine — Cristiano Ronaldo is famed for the quality of his trademark dipping free kicks.
The Portugal forward's consummate penalty-taking skills have also won praise — until the whispers started recently that he might be losing his touch.
Ronaldo has missed three of his last four penalty kicks, including one in Portugal's 3-1 home defeat a week ago against Turkey that stretched the country's winless streak to three games.
The world's most expensive player, though, said Friday his confidence isn't dented as Portugal prepares to take on Germany in its opening European Championship Group B game.
"If there's a penalty tomorrow, I'm taking it," Ronaldo said at the stadium in Lviv, Ukraine where the Portuguese and Germans meet on Saturday.
The Netherlands and Denmark are also in the difficult group.
Perhaps Ronaldo's most stunning botched penalty kick was for Real Madrid in a Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich in April. The German club's goalkeeper denied the Portuguese forward in a penalty shootout, with Bayern advancing to the final.
That miss tarnished an impressive record: up to then, Ronaldo had sent 26 of 27 penalty kicks into the back of the net.
He seemed rattled by the error as a few days later he missed again, against Bilbao in the Spanish league.
Just as memorably, Ronaldo also had a penalty saved by Chelsea's Petr Cech in the 2008 Champions League final.
"Over the past season I did very well with penalties," Ronaldo said. "I have to recognize the goalkeepers' skills at making the saves. That's football for you. But my confidence is still the same."