Despite his two goals scored Thursday against Liechtenstein (4-0), Cristiano Ronaldo is not certain to maintain his status with Portugal.
With the departure of Fernando Santos after the 2022 World Cup, Portuguese fans thought they might be witnessing a palace revolution. Appointed coach, was Roberto Martinez going to strike a blow by deciding to turn the page on Cristiano Ronaldo? His first choices did not go in this direction since the five-time Ballon d’Or has been called for the first post-World rally and was even established during the great success validated Thursday against Liechtenstein (4-0), as part of the qualifiers for Euro 2024. Author of a double, is CR7 guaranteed to maintain its star status within the Seleçao? Nothing can confirm it.
Again, the Portuguese selection played in a system in which Cristiano Ronaldo could not hide the difficulties imposed on him by his thirty-eight years. Much less mobile than before, the player waits to be served in the feet and does not offer much to his partners in terms of offensive solution. This is in any case what he showed against the very modest Liechtenstein. And its presence, or at least the impact it can have on the game of the Seleçao, brings some reflections, such as that of a Bernardo Silva who declared that the team needed ” fresh air“.
Simply shifted decision?
According The Team, the words of the Manchester City player would hardly hide this desire to see Cristiano Ronaldo be demoted ” in its proper place“. And the daily to explain that Roberto Martinez will very soon be forced to decide and make a choice between a game system beneficial to CR7 and another organization demanded by the rest of the Lusitanian locker room. If the end of Ronaldo’s international career is not currently relevant, it is the end of an era which may have been only slightly delayed.
