It is better to start the history of Portugal from the middle. Since the match against Switzerland, when, to everyone’s surprise, Cristiano Ronaldo was on the bench. Fernando Santos thought pragmatically: the leader may not be enough for 90 minutes, but for the possible 120 minutes it will definitely not be enough. Yes, and changing it along the way is such a big undertaking …
The move worked. Murat Yakin did not understand, the Swiss ran like crazy across the field, chasing the Portuguese, and scored one after another. But the Moroccan national team did not believe in this trick, they did not care if Ronaldo was there or not. We put concrete, there will be concrete. And Portugal is not yet ready to play without Ronaldo all the time.
Ronaldo’s approach to the tournament is an example of how not to approach. Fights, fights, super interviews, leaving the club, negotiations with sheikhs, sudden (and quite damaging) media activity of the sister…
If Messi devoted himself entirely to the 2022 World Cup, changing both his behavior in the locker room and on the pitch (we even saw him practicing on the corner flags), then Ronaldo, it seems, dedicated the championship to himself. . And yes, he lost. Messi has the World Cup, and both have the championship of their continent.
It is doubtful that he has a future in the selection. So that? After all, even the goal record for her has long been behind him. Even if it’s just to run away from Leo…
We recommend reading about the fate of the Croatian team
o National teams from Belgium and Denmark,
as well as other World Cup results.