On the other hand, in case of elimination of the World Cup event (from November 21 to December 18)could spell the end of the golden age of Portuguese football, led by five-time Ballon d’Or winners, with the European title in 2016 as a highlight.
It is not the first time that Cristiano Ronaldo has found himself in this situation, since he went through it before Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, and until now he has always solved it successfully.
In 2011, the then Real Madrid striker he scored a brace against Bosnia-Herzegovina and two years later scored four times against Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden.
class flashes
Present at all the major tournaments since the beginning of his international career in 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo has always found a way to pierce the rival goal.
In the European qualifying campaign that ended in November, the current Manchester United striker scored six goals in seven games… but didn’t score in the last twoa draw in Ireland (0-0) and the defeat at home against Serbia (2-1), which sent the Portuguese to the playoffs.
Although he hasn’t reached 50 goals per season since 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo is still capable of offering flashes of class, like two weeks ago when he scored a hat-trick in a Premier League match, the 59th of his career, setting a new world record. 807 goals as a professional.
Without the physical power of yesteryear and often lined up as the only point of his selection, CCristiano Ronaldo depends more and more on his teammateswhen until recently he was used to carrying the weight of the national team alone.
After the defeat against Serbia, the Portuguese press criticized coach Fernando Santos for his inability to put together a team that plays good football despite having a squad full of quality.
decimated defense
“We know we have talent. If we manage to have a good team spirit, we will be in a position to get through these qualifiers“Liverpool striker Diogo Jota told a news conference on Tuesday.
If Fernando Santos has many options in the offensive sector, where Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Joao Félix are also present, the Portuguese team reaches the playoffs with a decimated defense.
Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias, Wolverhampton full-back Nelson Semedo, club-mate Ruben Neves and Lille midfielder Renato Sanches will all miss the match due to injury, as will Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.
For his part, veteran Pepe (39 years old) tested positive for covid-19 on Monday and will be absent at least against the Turks, and Manchester City winger Joao Cancelo is suspended for the first game.
“We must not give too much importance to those who are not (…) We have confidence in all those who have been summoned to replace them”, declared Diogo Jota.
In a recent interview with the AFPformer Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim was also confident: “We have a great squad. I also have full confidence in our coach. Fernando Santos is the only one who has won a title with Portugal and I think he will qualify the team.”