Portugal hoping Ronaldo can continue his good form in Russia
glimpse of the potential at hand.
Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette did not even come on. Neither did highly-rated midfielders Adrien Rabiot and Corentin Tolisso, who are both 22. Tolisso joined Bayern Munich on Wednesday for a Bundesliga-record of at least €41.5 million.
Anthony Martial, a 21-year-old forward touted as France’s next big star when he joined Manchester United in January 2016, was overlooked by Deschamps for the England game. So was Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman, who is also 21. Both played at Euro 2016.
Meanwhile, Deschamps continues to ignore striker Karim Benzema, who recently won his third Champions League title with Real Madrid.
Few national sides are able to won this season for the first time in five years.
“Obviously there are no words to describe what Cristiano means to our country, with everything that he has achieved,” Portugal defender Bruno Alves said yesterday. “He is an idol even for the players, and we hope that he can help Portugal with some of his goals and victories.”
Ronaldo’s recent performances have left him in a strong position to catch up with Lionel Messi with a fifth world player of the year award. He would almost certainly secure the prize if he can help Portugal win the Confederations Cup, the main warm-up event for next year’s World Cup.
Ronaldo has 11 goals in five games with the national team this season, including two in Portugal’s 3-0 win at Latvia in European World Cup qualifying last
leave out so many talented players.
“It’s up to the coach to decide, but I think he’d rather have choices to make,” France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said.
Not since the 2006 World Cup, when playmaker Zinedine Zidane was playing alongside Arsenal great Thierry Henry and the emerging Franck Ribery, has France boasted such scoring potency. A quality also helped by the new fullbacks.
Veterans Bacary Sagna and Patrice Evra, who played at Euro 2016, were reliable but did not carry a great attacking threat. They have been replaced by left back Benjamin Mendy and right back Djibril Sidibe - who both play for French champion Monaco.
Sidibe breaks forward and scored against England, while the week, the team’s last match before the Confederations Cup.
Portugal arrived in Russia as one of the title favourites, and also with a unique chance to show that last year’s European triumph didn’t come by accident.
“Portugal always shows ambition in every competition that it plays,” Alves said. “Now we have to show on the pitch why we are being considered favourites. We have already shown our strength in the past, and we want to do it again. We want to show that we are able to win more tournaments.”
Portugal is making its first appearance in the Confederations Cup, the eight-nation competition played by continental champions plus host Russia and World Cup winner Germany. The other teams are New Zealand, Cameroon, Chile, Australia and Mexico.
Portugal, which made it to the tournament after beating host France in the Euro 2016 final, is in Group A along with Russia, New Zealand and Mexico.
Portugal won 2-1 the only time it faced Mexico in an official match, in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Portugal won 1-0 in a friendly in 2014.
“Mexico has shown that it is a very good team, always playing attacking football,” Alves said. “It is an aggressive team, pressing you all the time, but I think that we have enough quality to win this game.”
Cedric Soares and Pepe, who had been practicing separately because they were not fully fit, joined the rest of Portugal’s group in yesterday’s session at Rubin Kazan’s training grounds.