Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal still defeated Sweden 5-2. That shows that CR7’s role in Selecao’s playing style is no longer decisive. Maybe it’s time for him to think about resting after the EURO 2024 finals end.
A few days before the friendly match between the home team and Sweden, defender Joao Cancelo made shocking statements about teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portuguese national team: “The pinnacle of a football player’s career.” is from 25 to 32 years old. Although Cristiano is really important to us, he is already 39 years old this year.” The meaning of the Barcelona defender is clear: Cristiano Ronaldo is past his prime.
Reality on the field has proven that what Cancelo said was not without meaning. On the day without Ronaldo in the squad, the Portuguese team crushed Sweden with a strong score of 5-2 with 5 goals divided equally between 5 different players. Sweden is definitely not a weak team and that shows that Europe’s Selecao is clearly not too dependent on CR7. Without this 39-year-old striker, they can still play sublimely. In particular, Bruno Fernandes seems to be “untied” in the role of leading the attacking play.
If you have been following the Portuguese team for a long time, you can see that, right from the 2022 World Cup finals, Ronaldo’s pivotal role in the national team has been shaken. The head coach of the European Selecao at that time, Fernando Santos, repeatedly exiled CR7 to the bench in Qatar because he thought he was becoming an obstacle to the team’s development. Ronaldo was very angry about this, so he “snubbed” his teacher and offered to retire from international football. If it weren’t for the Portuguese Football Federation’s hasty dismissal of Mr. Santos, Ronaldo might have actually left the Portuguese national team!
Or in the EURO 2016 final, Ronaldo had to leave the field in the 19th minute, due to injury after a tackle by player Dimitri Payet, but the Portuguese team still played jubilantly and defeated France who were very strong at that time. strong to win the championship. That is, it is not because there is no CR7 in the squad that the strength of the European Selecao has decreased.
Portuguese football in recent years has produced many talented players. In the hands of coach Roberto Martinez, there are many stars who are making waves in Europe’s top national leagues such as Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot (MU), Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias (Man City), Joao Felix (Barca), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Goncalo Ramos (PSG), or most recently 21-year-old rookie Francisco Coceicao (Porto)… With those talents, the Portuguese national team can completely aim for great plans in the future. future without having a player who was almost 40 years old like Ronaldo in the squad.
Perhaps it is necessary to reiterate the reason leading to coach Roberto Martinez’s decision not to summon Ronaldo for a friendly match with the Swedish national team. According to this 50-year-old strategist, he wants the owner of 5 Golden Ball titles to rest with his family after the Saudi Pro League takes a break. But most importantly, Mr. Martinez wants to create opportunities for young players to gradually build a team that plays without having to worry too much about whether Ronaldo plays or not.
In a speech not long ago, Ronaldo declared that he has no intention of retiring from international football. The goal of the striker playing for Al Nassr Club is to join the Portuguese team in participating in the 2026 World Cup finals. But is CR7’s decision too selfish? Everyone understands, perhaps only Ronaldo does not understand, that he is past his prime. If that weren’t the case, perhaps this 39-year-old striker wouldn’t have had to travel to a “low-lying” football tournament like the Saudi Pro League to play football.
A wise person is someone who knows how to stop at the right time. Agree that Ronaldo can still play well at the upcoming EURO 2024 finals. But after the tournament in Germany ends, perhaps he should consider retiring from the national team!
