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Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer in international football, scored 146 goals and changed Portuguese football like no other player before him.
He has been virtually untouchable in the past five World Cups but calls for him to step back and play a lesser role on the field are growing.
Antonio Simos, a member of Portugal’s team that finished third in the 1966 World Cup, argued that “he doesn’t play to win, but to be the main man.”
“Do you understand the opposite of Eusebio? Let’s call a spade a spade. I have nothing against him. I can still see, I can still hear and I can still think. But I can’t run away from the facts.”
Ronaldo, who has found the net three times in the United States and Canada, has now scored in six World Cups.
In the year A penalty against Iran in 2006 followed four years later in Cape Town against North Korea. His only goal in the 2014 World Cup was against Ghana in Brazil.
He then scored a hat-trick against Spain in the group stage in Sochi in 2018, followed by a winner in Morocco five days later in Moscow.
Ronaldo’s only goal in Qatar in 2022 was a free kick against Ghana. He scored twice in Houston’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan on June 23 before scoring from the spot against Croatia last week.
“His leadership and work in the final third is still one of the best in the world,” said Martinez when asked about his decision to start Ronaldo.
Martinez in 2012. Since leaving his role as Belgium head coach in 2023, Ronaldo has featured in 36 of Portugal’s 44 games, most of which he missed due to injury or suspension.
In Ronaldo’s absence, Portugal recorded their biggest win of the cycle – a 9-0 dribbling of Luxembourg at Faro in September 2023.
Their second biggest win was a 9-1 win over Porto last November against Armenia, also without Ronaldo.
Ironically, after both games, discussions quickly returned to whether the team would play better without their captain – but fans continued to worship the “dreamless” player.
