Spotlight on Ronaldo

Talented Portugal aiming to shake off underachievers tag in Qatar

ONE of Portugal’s best generations of players, led by Cristiano Ronaldo in the twilight of his career, will arrive at the World Cup with the pressure of proving they are not underachievers. The Portuguese soccer landscape has been drastically transformed over the past two decades as the country evolved from a mid-level team into one of the world’s best, with the country being viewed as a talent machine.

Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao, Joao Felix, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha and others will make Portugal, on paper, one of the best teams man-for-man in Qatar. But the reality is different from the theory with Portugal.

The rise of forward Cristiano Ronaldo and manager Jose

Mourinho had a major impact on the country’s football culture, leading them to the Euro 2004 final and Euro 2016 triumph.

However, the impact of Portugal’s

Euros success is fading fast and winning the

Nations League title at home in 2019 has not eased the criticism with recent outings disappointing.

They lost in in the last 16 at Euro 2020, failed to qualify for the finals at the last two Nations League editions and had to go through the playoffs to rech this year’s World Cup.

Their latest defeat at home to Spain in their final match of the Nations League group stage sparked criticism aimed towards manager Fernando Santos and captain Ronaldo.

Fans and local media are questioning if the time has come for the veteran coach to step down and for Ronaldo to pass the baton to the new generation and assume a secondary role in a team full of young and talented players.

The latest crop are part of the elite but have not been able to shine in the national team due to the insistence on moulding and adapting their game to accomomodate Ronaldo.

After losing 1-0 against Spain in Braga in October, when Portugal dominated possession but wasted chances only to see their savvy neighbours score the

winner in added time, Santos had to answer several questions about his future.

“I have a contract until 2024 and I intend on honouring it until the end,” he firmly told reporters.

If the pressure of the latest results and Ronaldo’s explosive TV interview with Piers Morgan just one day before the national team arrived a t

their training camp in Lisbon were not enough, Santos must tackle two different problems up front – the absence of injured Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and Joao Felix’s poor form at Atletico Madrid, where the €120 million (RM564m) striker has become a bench warmer this season.

Ronaldo was the first player to step onto the pitch in Tuesday’s training session with Portugal and was all smiles.

“He is always happy when he is with national team,” Portugal midfielder Joao Mario told ESPN said.

“I saw him yesterday and he is fine as always when he arrives here. He is totally focused on the national team, he is going to be a big help for us.

“It’s not the first time that a player comes to the national team having a problem with his club,” Mario added.

“One of the advantages is that we put everything to the side when being here. When we get to the national team, it’s another working group and we try to focus on what’s most important.” – Reuters/Agencies