Portugal should not use Ronaldo blindly

Roberto Martinez should not use Ronaldo blindly. Photo: Goal

With 6 points after 2 group stage matches, the Portuguese team has secured a ticket to the round of 16 of EURO 2024 before the match against Georgia. This is a better opportunity for Roberto Martinez to test his tactics as well as to rest his key players. However, the 50-year-old strategist still affirmed that he will let superstar Cristiano Ronaldo start.

"Ronaldo will play. He is too important to sit out. Ronaldo has had a stable season, playing all the matches with a lot of minutes. Therefore, it would not be a good idea to leave him on the bench. Playing will help Ronaldo maintain the best playing condition."

Roberto Martinez still has full faith in Ronaldo to lead the Portuguese national team's attack. Photo: Portuguese Football Federation

Martinez's statement received mixed opinions when the majority thought that the match against Georgia was the best opportunity for Ronaldo to score his first goal at EURO 2024. Meanwhile, Goal newspaper said that Roberto Martinez was stubbornly using CR7 blindly. This is the reason why the "European Selecao" attack, despite possessing many talented players, has not yet fully exploited its potential.

After 2 group stage matches, the 39-year-old striker's only mark at EURO 2024 was the assist for Bruno Fernandes in the match against Türkiye. This move also helped Ronaldo achieve a record of 8 assists - the most in EURO history.

Ronaldo has yet to score his first goal at EURO 2024. Photo: AFP

According to Goal, CR7 passing to Bruno in a position to shoot is an understandable reaction for every player, especially at the age of the other side of the career slope. According to statistics, after the first 2 matches at EURO 2024, the Al-Nassr superstar is the player with the most shots with 9 shots. However, the quality of the shots is not really impressive, with an expected goals index (xG) of 1.11.

Ronaldo also only penetrated the final third of the field twice. Heading high is no longer his advantage as it is easily neutralized by the opposing defenders.

Before Roberto Martinez, Fernando Santos had proven that Portugal could play well without Ronaldo in the 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup. That was considered the best performance of the "European Selecao" in Qatar. However, when he continued to leave Ronaldo on the bench in the following match, coach Santos immediately paid the price with a bitter defeat against the Moroccan team.

If Ronaldo is left on the bench, Portugal still has top-class players in attack. Photo: Goal

This will be a lesson Martinez needs to consider when he wants to build a Portuguese team that is no longer dependent on the 39-year-old captain. Remember, in the EURO 2024 qualifiers, the best performance under Martinez's reign so far was when Portugal destroyed Luxembourg 9-0 when Ronaldo was absent due to suspension. Therefore, instead of ignoring and trying to turn the 1985-born striker into the leader of the attack, the Spanish coach should calculate to use Ronaldo appropriately in the journey at EURO 2024.

Source: https://laodong.vn/bong-da-quoc-te/tuyen-bo-dao-nha-khong-nen-su-dung-ronaldo-mot-cach-mu-quang-1357988.ldo