Ronaldo-less Portugal faces cloudy future
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Portugal coach Fernando Santos spent the World Cup denying his team was only about Cristiano Ronaldo, but he will leave Russia with even more doubts about the future of the European champion once its talismanic forward decides to hang up his boots.
Ronaldo鈥檚 hat-trick in a thrilling 3-3 opening draw against Spain helped light the competition up, but after that he netted just one goal, in the side鈥檚 1-0 victory over Morocco.
He failed to breach Iran鈥檚 gritty defense in a 1-1 draw where Portugal suffered some nervous stoppage-time minutes during which the Asian powerhouse could have eliminated it at the group stage.
On Saturday, the Euro 2016 winner failed to find a way out of its problems, with Ronaldo largely ineffective against Uruguay鈥檚 well-organized defense and close man-marking, and he appeared frustrated with the lack of delivery from midfield.
Santos had bristled at a question about the team鈥檚 dependence on Ronaldo before Saturday鈥檚 match, brushing it off with a wry joke.
鈥淚 just got another free coffee because I bet on this question! I get the coffee. Thank you for the question,鈥 he told a news conference.
Captain Ronaldo played a pivotal role in France during Portugal鈥檚 triumphant campaign two years ago, and in Russia he became Europe鈥檚 top international goal-scorer and only second in the world to Iran鈥檚 Ali Daei.
But his own strong form has not put an end to Portugal鈥檚 scoring problems, mirroring its Euro 2016 run where it drew all its group games and had less possession than its opponents in all of its knockout matches.
And against Uruguay, Portugal managed 61 percent ball possession. Its midfield dominance, however, proved insufficient.
The proven marksman Ronaldo was understandably given no space by Uruguay鈥檚 defense, and he hardly got a touch in the opposition box in the first half. Portugal had no Plan B to fall back on to answer Edinson Cavani鈥檚 strikes on either side of Pepe鈥檚 headed goal in the 55th minute.
It was little surprise, therefore, that Santos urged the Real Madrid forward to keep playing for the national side.
Ronaldo himself was non-committal about his future. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the time to talk about the future when it comes to the players and coach,鈥 he said.
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