Santos: Portugal cannot rely on just Ronaldo

Fernando Santos, the Portugal coach, last night stressed the importance of his other 22 players around main man Cristiano Ronaldo as they prepare to face Uruguay in the last 16 today.

When the inevitable question about Portugal’s record goalscorer Ronaldo came, the 63-year-old’s face broke into a grin.

“I just got another free coffee, because I bet on this question!” he said. “Everybody knows that any team in the world depends on its players, and of course we have one of the best in the world, but you can ask the Uruguay coach the same question about [Luis] Suarez, [Edinson] Cavani. It’s the team that has to play, if Ronaldo plays alone we’re going to lose. We have to be strong as a team.”

Much like his own side, Santos believes Uruguay’s strength lies in the collective, as well as the canny coaching of Oscar Tabarez.

“The greatest virtue of the Uruguay team is that they are Uruguay. You have a coach who has been working with them for 12 years, very experienced, very high-quality,” he said, adding they have yet to concede a goal in 2018.

Uruguay will need a collective effort to subdue Ronaldo, according to Tabarez.

“Ronaldo is one of the best strikers in the world,” Tabarez said. “What he has on top of the qualities is that he’s the leader of that team. There is not a single player that can contain him there. Not just [Diego] Godin. We have to work collectively in order to limit the effect he can have.”