Portugal coach Roberto Martinez plucked out statistics to defend his continued selection of Cristiano Ronaldo after the striker’s capacity to handle the physical intensity of the European Championship was questioned on Friday, June 21.
Jun 22, 2024 05:03 AM
The 39-year-old Ronaldo played the full game but didn’t score in Portugal’s group-stage opener, a come-from-behind 2-1 win against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, June 18. Martinez insisted that was not beyond Ronaldo, even at his age, and pointed to his record in the Saudi league with Al-Nassr in the recently completed season.
It was put to Martinez that the intensity of the Saudi league doesn’t compare to what he is experiencing at Euro 2024 and that he doesn’t need to press from the front as much with his club. Martinez maintained Ronaldo was being picked because of what he continues to do, not simply what he has done in his storied career.
Given Martinez’s robust defense of Ronaldo, there appears little chance of that happening in Germany and he praised Ronaldo for his work rate and discipline against the Czechs, against whom he had three shots on target.
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