Round 2 of World Cup group stage ends today with matches in Groups I and K, starting with Portugal vs. Uzbekistan at 19:00 CEST, 18:00 BST. Portugal came as one of the favourites with an impressive squad that includes Vitinha, Joao Neves, and Bruno Fernandes, some of the best players in the world... as well as Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best strikers of all-time, but one that is now 41, and has played in the Saudi Pro League for the last three years.
Ronaldo's performance during the 1-1 draw against Democratic Republic of Congo became a hot topic: he played the full 90 minutes, only touched the ball 25 times, the least of all players that played over 60 minutes, and only shot three times, none on target. Heated arguments happened that Ronaldo seemed more focused on scoring himself than helping the team, and thousands of CR7 fans invaded the comment sections of social media accounts of Joao Neves and his girlfriend.
Portugal coach Roberto Martínez fully trusts on Ronaldo, while Fernando Santos, Portugal coach during World Cup 2022, benched him after the group stage, counting on Gonçalo Ramos as the starting striker, a move that disliked Ronaldo. Is Martínez right trusting Ronaldo?
The pressure will be huge today on both: not only Portugal needs to win to secure qualification for round of 32, but Ronaldo needs to prove his place in the team... especially as the rest of "World Cup stars", like Messi, Haaland, Mbappé, and Kane have already scored multiple goals.
