Ronaldo shows off his greatness versus Spain
MOSCOW The never-ending “greatest” debate just shifted in Cristiano Ronaldo’s direction.
He drew and converted a penalty, scored from distance and banged in a last-minute free kick on the biggest stage there is.
Portugal’s 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday night didn’t just re-affirm Ronaldo’s quality, it showed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is playing with a determination and focus that makes him almost unstoppable. You could see it in his eyes, the vision of his equalizing free kick freezing Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea.
Ronaldo rolled up his shorts, exposing his perfectly tanned quadriceps and electrified Sochi with a restart you’ll see played back for the remainder of this tournament.
This after he drew and converted a first-half penalty before fooling De Gea with a shot from distance.
It was a hat trick akin to the three goals Lionel Messi registered on the final day of World Cup qualifying to put Argentina in.
It’s as if they’re trading performances, leading viewers to draw the same conclusion: This guy, in this moment, is the best player in the world. We’ve said it about each of them in the last month.
This was the tournament that was supposed to show Ronaldo’s decline. He’s 33.
Yet he’s still finding ways to carry this Portugal team in matches they have no right being in.
BRUTAL DEFENDING
Full marks to Ronaldo, but Spain was abysmal on defence.
After Nacho’s shambolic defending led to Portugal’s opening goal, De Gea’s gaffe should incline new manager Fernando Hierro to change goalkeepers.
As if that wasn’t enough, Gerard Pique’s over-aggressive defending allowed Ronaldo to draw the late foul that led to the equalizer.
Portugal was always going to struggle scoring from the run of play. Pique provided Ronaldo the opportunity he needed.
STICK TO ‘SKIING’
Canada doesn’t deserve to host the 2026 World Cup, said World Cup legend Diego Maradona.
Maradona told TV station Telesur he “doesn’t like” that the United World Cup bid — Canada, the U.S. and Mexico — won the right to host the tournament.
“Mexico doesn’t deserve it,” he said, according to multiple reports. “The Mexicans come up against Brazil or Germany ... they’re out.”
Maradona added there’s not enough “passion.”
“The Canadians may be good skiers, and the Americans wanted to have four periods of 25 (minutes) for the advertising.”
He was referring to 1994, when the U.S. hosted and had the idea of adding more commercial breaks through the games.
CROATIA’S BEST CLASS
Slaven Bilic says this year’s Croatian team is far superior to the one that claimed fourth at the 1998 tournament in France.
His analysis is simple: This year’s Croatian side has far more players competing at the top level.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid) and Dejan Lovren (Liverpool) participated in the Champions League final.
Croatia also has players competing at Juventus, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Milan.
“So, in every position we have those kind of players, whereas in ’98 not many of us played in the Champions League,” Bilic said, according to the U.K.’s Sun.
“But we had (Davor) Suker, who scored six goals, and our goalkeeper, Drazen Ladic, made gamechanging saves.”
Croatia and Nigeria open Group D Saturday in Kaliningrad.
‘GAME OF OUR LIVES’
Tiny Iceland shocked Europe with its quarter-final run at the 2016 UEFA Euros.
Now they ’re looking to shock the world Saturday in Moscow, where they meet powerhouse Argentina.
“For us, this is the biggest game of our lives, our first ever game in the World Cup, the biggest tournament of all,” Iceland midfielder Rurik Gislason told AFP.
“Argentina may have a better team on paper, but we have showed before that we can get results against big teams.”
Iceland has been punching above its weight for three years.
WARNING SHOT
Australian World Cup legend Tim Cahill would become just the fourth player to score in four World Cups if he nets one against France Saturday.
The 38-year-old sent a warning shot at Les Bleus before their Group C fixture in Kazan.
“We are going to put a tactic in place to beat France,” Cahill told French publication Orange, according to Fox.
“We have all the weapons we need to get there.”
SCAPEGOAT FEARS
Ex-England international Phil Neville has a pit in his stomach.
“I hope there won’t be an England scapegoat,’ Neville told BBC 5Live, according to the Daily Mail.
Neville has experience in this department. The Sky Sports pundit infamously conceded a penalty to Romania during the 2000 Euros that saw the Three Lions exit the tournament.
“I got home and the next six months were probably the most difficult of my career,” Neville added. “There was an England flag on my gates on fire.
“There’s a scapegoat in every tournament from an England player and you have to hope there won’t be one this tournament.”