Portugal have continued to flourish without Cristiano Ronaldo - their most capped player and record scorer - leading observers to wonder how much he is needed.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has not played for Portugal since the
World Cup in Russia. (Source: Reuters)
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Portugal coach Fernando Santos
avoided directly commenting on Cristiano Ronaldo’s international future on
Monday, saying only that the 33-year-old was “with the team”.
Ronaldo has not been selected for
Portugal’s squad since the World Cup, something which Santos initially said in
September was a decision taken by mutual consent as the player needed a break
following his move to Juventus from Real Madrid.
However, Portugal have continued
to flourish without their most capped player and record scorer, leading
observers to wonder how much he is needed.
The European champions have
already won their Nations League group ahead of Italy with a game to spare and
are set to host the semi-finals and final in June, a decision which has to be
ratified by UEFA.
Ronaldo has posted messages of
support to the team on Twitter and Instagram before and after matches, which
Santos referred to on Monday –- but he would not go any further.
“If anyone has doubts about
whether Ronaldo is with this team, they just have to look at his social media
posts before and after the games,” said Santos. “Apart from that, I’m not going
to go public with private conversations.”
The veteran coach clearly became
tired of repeatedly being asked about Ronaldo.
“We keep going over old ground,”
he said. “It’s not good for the national team, nor for the country. It’s taking
away some credit from players who achieved qualification in brilliant fashion.
“We are talking about the best
player in the world, but it’s important also to talk about the players of
tomorrow. You can keep insisting but it’s getting difficult to keep answering
the same question.”
Portugal host Poland in their
final Group A3 game on Tuesday, although the match is effectively a friendly
with the Poles already relegated.
Tags: cristiano ronaldo, UEFA Nations League
Source:https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/cristiano-ronaldo-portugal-fernando-santos-5455148/
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