As Portugal faced a disappointing exit from Euro 2024, the role of Cristiano Ronaldo in the national team has become a subject of heated debate. At 39, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/ronaldo-to-earn-uefa-award-as-top-champions-league-scorer/">Ronaldo</a>‘s continued presence in the squad, under coach Roberto Martinez, has sparked concerns among fans and pundits alike. Many argue that his age and declining influence on the pitch may be hindering the development and effectiveness of Portugal’s newer talents.



Ronaldo’s performance at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/uefa-european-championship-tv-schedule/">Euro 2024</a> was underwhelming by his high standards. He failed to score in open play throughout the tournament. His most notable contribution was an assist in the group stage against Turkey. Additionally, he missed a crucial penalty in the round of 16 against Slovenia. This moment only highlighted his struggles in the competition. Despite these setbacks, the superstar played every minute of the Seleção das Quinas’s matches, a decision that has been met with criticism.



<h2>What did Roberto Martinez say about Ronaldo?</h2>



Roberto Martinez, the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/portugal-national-team-tv-schedule/">Portugal</a> head coach, has defended his decision to play Ronaldo throughout the tournament. He insists that the forward’s experience and discipline were valuable assets to the team. His goalscoring ability was not at its peak. The 51-year-old has also claimed that he possesses “confidential information” that justifies his choice to keep Ronaldo on the pitch, suggesting that they managed the player’s age effectively and that his presence was beneficial to the team’s strategy.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240828_WST_525228_Roberto-Martinez-Ronaldo-1200x675_e2c0224d.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-525260" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/08/Roberto-Martinez-Ronaldo-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/08/Roberto-Martinez-Ronaldo-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/08/Roberto-Martinez-Ronaldo-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/08/Roberto-Martinez-Ronaldo-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/08/Roberto-Martinez-Ronaldo.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



“It makes sense to ask this question. Age in tournaments is not important. I think being older actually helps. We saw that with Pepe, who played at a superlative level. The work of the medical team is very important. We monitored Cristiano’s performance through statistics, which show he was well managed, well-used. I have confidential information to back this up,” <a href="https://www.record.pt/futebol/selecoes/detalhe/roberto-martinez-defende-boa-gestao-de-ronaldo-no-euro-tenho-informacao-confidencial-que-o-comprova?ref=O%20di%C3%A1rio%20de%20CR7_DestaquesPrincipais" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">he said</a>.



His reliance on Ronaldo, however, has been met with skepticism. Critics argue that younger players like Goncalo Ramos, Rafael Leao, and Joao Felix represent the future of Portuguese soccer. Thus, the manager should have given them more opportunities to shine. The fear is that Ronaldo’s status and influence might overshadow the potential of these emerging stars, stifling the team’s growth.



<h2>Impact of Ronaldo’s presence</h2>



One of the key criticisms leveled at Ronaldo’s continued selection is that his presence on the field might intimidate other players, leading to a reluctance to take shots or make bold decisions. This dynamic, if true, could undermine the team’s overall performance, as players might defer too much to the veteran superstar rather than playing with the freedom and creativity needed to win matches.



Moreover, the comparison to Pepe, who at 41 played his last tournament for Portugal, has been contentious. While Pepe’s defensive role allowed him to excel even at an advanced age, Ronaldo’s position as a forward requires a level of pace, agility, and finishing that may be diminishing with time.



“When we talk about Cristiano, we are talking about a striker who scores goals. But our striker is much more than this. I was happy with his discipline. As we don’t hit the ball long, but advance up the pitch with shorter passes, to arrive in the final third with four, five players, we need a striker with a lot of discipline as regards his positioning. Cristiano did this very well,” Martinez added.



“He opened up spaces, reacted to losing the ball, and I think the lack of goals from Cristiano was shared in general around the team. We lacked goals from players in the box, from Rafael Leao, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, for example. What Ronaldo did as a striker was what we expected from him. Overall he worked very well.”&nbsp;



Despite the criticism, Ronaldo has expressed a <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/ronaldo-hints-that-he-may-feature-at-the-2026-world-cup/">desire to continue playing for Portugal</a>, indicating that his departure from the national team will be on his terms. As the team prepares for upcoming commitments, including the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/uefa-nations-league-tv-schedule-and-links/">Nations League</a>, the question remains whether his inclusion will benefit or hinder Portugal’s chances of success.



PHOTOS: IMAGO

'Age is not important': Portugal boss steadfast in Ronaldo support

As Portugal faced a disappointing exit from Euro 2024, the role of Ronaldo in the national team has become a subject of heated debate.

<div style="text-align: center"><a href="http:\/\/view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/south-africa-cape-town/image/9256973?term=spain+portugal" target="_blank"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a></div>
When Spain fell to the hands of Switzerland in the opening match of World Cup 2010, the vultures suddenly appeared from the sky and circled around their “dying” carcass.&nbsp; No team has ever won the World Cup after losing its first match.&nbsp; The ghosts from yesteryear are rising from the dead and haunting this current team about their ancestors’ past failures.&nbsp; Previous entrenador Luis Aragonés ranted about Vicente del Bosque and indirectly undermined most of what Vicente del Bosque has done with this team.&nbsp; Although Spain has only made it to the quarterfinals after defeating 1-0 over Portugal in Cape Town yesterday, La Furia Roja’s form suggests that rising to the occasion will not be the same problem as it has in previous international competitions.
Spain’s only injury concern before their match against Portugal was Xabi Alonso’s sprained ankle he suffered against Chile, but del Bosque slotted him in the center of midfield after passing a late fitness test.&nbsp; Del Bosque saw no reason to change his starting eleven, but if he had any reservations about one of his players, it would have been Fernando Torres because of his erratic play in the group stage.
99% of the time, Torres would be an automatic starter, but still recovering from knee surgery in April, his lack of match sharpness became painfully obvious in his starts against Honduras and Chile when his first touch disappeared on him on numerous occasions, and his finishing would have the usual Nike T90 ball well off target, much less the unpredictable Adidas Jabulani ball.
After a strong first few minutes where he made threatening runs into the penalty area and curled a shot from the left side of the penalty box that forced a diving save from Eduardo at his far right post, Torres’ contributions were minimal.&nbsp; Fernando Llorente came in for Torres in the 58th minute, and after Llorente lit a second spark for the Spaniards after the hour mark, del Bosque might need to reconsider who plays alongside David Villa in the quarterfinals against Paraguay.

As for the other twenty-one players on the pitch, the eleven from Spain exhibited no sliver of the tentative attitude they displayed in the first twenty minutes against Chile, as they pinned Portugal’s eleven into their own half and peppered Eduardo’s goal with shot after shot, especially working the left wing.&nbsp; Portugal has used three different right backs in their four games (Paulo Ferreira, Miguel, and new Valencia signing Ricardo Costa), so the scouting report must have emphasized attacking this vulnerability.
Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz would not have worried about Spain’s possession or his team’s ability to organize themselves defensively because of their strong defensive record, one goal allowed in their last eleven competitive international matches to be more specific.&nbsp; Whether he tried to build his players’ confidence or he was delusional, he described the match against Brazil and his ultra-conservative gameplan as a “football feast” where Portugal attacked and Brazil defended.&nbsp; Using that same blueprint against Spain, Queiroz would have felt that Spain was falling right into his strategy.
And fall they did as Spain’s possession became ponderous, and Portugal felt more assured to throw some men forward in the counter-attack.&nbsp; Tiago popped an effort from twenty-five yards that Iker Casillas needed a second handle to slap away from an on-charging Hugo Almeida, Cristiano Ronaldo struck a dipping free kick from over forty yards that Casillas somewhat fumbled, and Almeida botched a header from a precise Raul Meireles cross that could have easily given Portugal that precious first goal.&nbsp; Spain did what they wanted, but Portugal did what they wanted better than Spain.
After the halftime break, the status quo reigned for the first fifteen minutes of the second half as Spain could not penetrate the defense, and Portugal remained dangerous on the counter.&nbsp; The match changed when Torres came out in the 58th minute and in stepped Fernando Llorente, the Athletic Bilbao target man making his first appearance in this World Cup.&nbsp; He immediately made an instant impact with his first touch when his diving header from de facto right winger Sergio Ramos’ cross forced a brilliant point-blank save from Eduardo.
Then the combination of FC Barcelona midfielders Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández with future Barcelona forward David Villa occurred with such Catalunyan flair that a picture diagram is necessary to complement the authorial description.
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="http:\/\/view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/graphics-2010-world-cup/image/9258614?term=spain+portugal" target="_blank"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100630_WST_3489_graphics-2010-world-cup.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=422" border="0" alt="BEIJING, June 30, 2010 Graphics shows the goal of Spain in round of 16 match against Portugal at the 2010 South Africa World Cup on June 29, 2010.. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun." width="500" height="422"></figure></div></a></div>
A one-two with Fernando Llorente gave Iniesta the space to dribble around the “D” to find Xavi coming back into an onside location.&nbsp; In no position to go towards goal, the indomitable Xavi used all the resources of his spatial-temporal reasoning to visualize David Villa’s diagonal run from the left corner of the penalty area and back flick Iniesta’s pass first-time into space, where Villa shot with his left foot to the left near post.&nbsp; Eduardo did extremely well to cover that area of goal and saved it with his feet; however, the rebound tracked directly back to Villa, and with his feathery touch, he lifted the ball over the sprawled Eduardo, kissing the underside of the crossbar and into goal.
When Spain forced Portugal to chase the game after Villa’s goal, A Selecção looked incapable of forming a cohesive attacking move.&nbsp; Carles Puyol and Joan Capdevila blocked their only two truly legitimate chances, and the double substitution of Pedro Mendes and Liédson for Simão Sabrosa and Pepe proved to do little for Portugal as Spain controlled the rest of the match.&nbsp; The only footnotes worth noting after Villa’s goal were Xabi Alonso’s yellow card, the first booking for Spain in the World Cup, David Villa’s stellar play, and Ricardo Costa’s red card after he supposedly elbowed Joan Capdevila, although replays showed little contact and Capdevila’s “writhing of pain” as he covered his face in apparent anguish.
Spain deserved to reach the quarterfinals, and with a gritty Paraguay side that will likely employ similar tactics as Portugal, the Spaniards should feel self-assured about performing well against Paraguay.&nbsp; David Villa looks to be the favorite in both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta control the midfield and keep possession for this Spain team, and the underrated back four closes down the ball very quickly when their opponents reach their own third.
For those who believe in numerology, Spain’s quarterfinal appearance marks the fourth time in the last seven World Cups where they have reached this stage of the tournament (every other World Cup since 1986), and each time, they failed to progress to the semifinals.&nbsp; So what is different about this team compared to those other Spanish teams that have flattered to deceive?
Silverware.
Capturing the 2008 European Championships cannot be overstated as a confidence building measure for a country that always produced talent but never fused them into a unified national team.&nbsp; The regionalism manifested in Spain has hindered the team in the past, as the chemistry never fit a team with such potential.&nbsp; Some tend to overrate unity and chemistry and propose that talent overcomes whatever problems occur in-house, but numerous examples such as Greece in Euro 2004, South Korea in World Cup 2002, and New Zealand in this year’s World Cup show that twenty-three players playing for one cause can be as powerful as a team littered with world-class players.
Vicente del Bosque will mull over the Fernando Torres question during these two rest days while the players train to see if he finds any slice of form to suggest that Torres is improving enough to warrant a start against Paraguay on Saturday.&nbsp; It takes a brave man to replace Torres with Fernando Llorente in the starting eleven, but for the betterment of the team, del Bosque must make this move to ensure Spain’s optimal lineup against Paraguay.
While Spain will likely defeat Paraguay whether Torres or Llorente starts, del Bosque should incorporate Llorente from the start to develop a rhythm with the other outfield players as a potential semifinal between either Argentina or Germany looms.&nbsp; Spain is peaking at the perfect time, and flying under the radar with Brazil and Argentina garnering most of the headlines, this is exactly the position that Spain wants and desires at this stage of the tournament.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Portugal national team"

News

'Age is not important': Portugal boss steadfast in Ronaldo support

Andres Iniesta

Spain Peaking At the Perfect Time With Their 1-0 Victory Over Portugal