Coach Roberto Martinez highly appreciates the experience of captain striker Cristiano Ronaldo in helping Portugal progress and aim for Euro 2024.
"Ronaldo has a lot of experience and we need to make the most of it," Martinez said on October 17. "We have a very clear understanding of what we need to do to get the best out of each player in the team. At the national team level, players need time and synchronization to have a clear style of play, from which they will play collectively and their individual quality will improve."
Coach Martinez shares joy with Ronaldo after the 5-0 win over host Bosnia on October 17. Photo: EPA
In the last two Euro 2024 qualifiers, Portugal won all - 3-2 at home against Slovakia and 5-0 away at Bosnia, in which Ronaldo contributed a brace in each match. These two braces helped the Al Nassr striker catch up with Romelu Lukaku in the race for the Euro 2024 qualifying top scorer when both scored nine goals. Ronaldo increased his Portugal's record to 127 goals in 203 matches and his career record to 859 goals in 1,188 appearances.
In addition, Ronaldo also reached 40 goals in 43 matches and became the player with the most goals in 2023, surpassing two young strikers, Erling Haaland (39 goals) and Kylian Mbappe (35 goals). This is also the 12th time Ronaldo has reached the 40-goal mark in a calendar year. He continuously achieved this feat from 2010 to 2018, but was interrupted in 2019 and 2022.
According to Spanish newspaper AS , the biggest change in the Portuguese team at the moment is Ronaldo's position compared to the end of coach Fernando Santos's time. At the 2022 World Cup, the relationship between Santos and Ronaldo became tense after the final match against South Korea in the group stage, when the former Man Utd striker expressed dissatisfaction at the time of being substituted.
Santos then left Ronaldo out of the starting line-up for the round of 16 tie against Switzerland and the quarter-final tie against Morocco, where Portugal lost 0-1. Coach Santos was then sacked by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), despite having led the Iberian team to Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League.
After taking over as Portugal coach, Martinez traveled to Saudi Arabia to talk to Ronaldo. The 50-year-old coach then called Ronaldo up, kept him as captain and repeatedly praised his student as an important factor in the team.
In response, Ronaldo shone to help Portugal win all eight of their first qualifying matches for the Euros. Portugal currently tops Group J with 24 points, eight points ahead of Slovakia and is certain to retain the top spot. Ronaldo and his teammates have two more matches remaining against Liechtenstein on November 16 and Iceland on November 19.
Ronaldo increased the score to 2-0 in the 5-0 win over Bosnia on October 17. Photo: EPA
Portugal qualified with a win over Slovakia, but were still in high spirits to beat Bosnia four days later. Martinez sees maintaining the winning streak in qualifying as the best way to prepare for Euro 2024 in Germany. "The win over Bosnia is a good example of the hard work, attitude and commitment of the players with many important signs. Portugal have top quality players, but the important thing is to come together for a common dream," added the 50-year-old coach.
With Portugal claiming the top spot, Ronaldo has become the first player in history to qualify for the Euros six times. If he is part of the Portugal squad that heads to Germany in the summer of 2024, Ronaldo will become the first player to appear in six Euros. He currently holds the record for scoring 14 goals in the tournament, including two in 2004, one in 2008, three in 2012, three in 2016 and five in 2020.
"Another win and a great performance from the whole team. The lead is secured and we are still going strong," Ronaldo wrote on Instagram after the win over Bosnia.
Hong Duy
Source link
Comment (0)