Ronaldo to match wits with ex-mentor
WE WILL KEEP ON WORKING FOR OUR DREAMS, VETERAN IRAN COACH QUEIROZ SAYS
■ in the group phase,” Ronaldo said after his early strike over Morocco left Portugal level on four points with Spain at the top of Group B.
“We’re almost there (knockout stages) and then we’ll see.”
Ronaldo is level with Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku in the race for the golden boot, leaving eternal rival Lionel Messi in the dust as Argentina scrap to stay in the competition.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos compared his talisman to a bottle of ‘Port wine’, marvelling at the 33-year-old’s ability to refine his game with age.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, the former Argentina midfielder, even indicated he would prefer to have Ronaldo rather than Messi in his team.
“Messi is very good, but it is clear that he is very good because he is surrounded by extraordinary players (at Barcelona),” Simeone said, in an audio recording published by Spanish media outlets.
“The question I ask is if you have to choose between Messi and Ronaldo in a normal team, who would you choose?”
Portugal defender Pepe, a ■ long-time teammate of Ronaldo’s at Real, said it was a “privilege” for the country to have a player such as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“He is getting better every year,” Manchester City winger Bernardo Silva opined after Ronaldo’s hat-trick in an opening 3-3 draw with Spain.
“People were waiting for him to get old and play worse, but he is only improving.”
Ronaldo scored a late penalty to seal a 2-0 win over Iran when the two sides last met, at the 2006 World Cup, and Portugal will hope for further inspiration from the second highest goalscorer in international history.
The European champions could be without midfielder Joao Moutinho after he sat out training again Saturday due to illness, although left-back Raphael Guerreiro is expected to shake off a leg problem.
Portugal need a draw to be sure of a place in the knockout phase, with either hosts Russia or Uruguay awaiting them in the next round should they advance.