Cristiano Ronaldo returns to the national team after tantrums in the Cup – 03/17/2023 – Sport

Goodbye Portuguese. Sad end. Thrown to the carpet. Cry, Portugal.

The day after Portugal’s elimination from the World Cup in Qatar, where the Europeans were overcome by Morocco in the quarterfinals, the covers of the country’s main newspapers indicated the end of an era.

More than the fall in the tournament, it was as if the time had come to say goodbye to important names in the national team, including the greatest of them: Cristiano Ronaldo.

The ace was the first Portuguese to leave the lawn of the Al Thumama stadium, in Doha, the scene of the defeat against the Moroccans. Before reaching the access tunnel to the locker room, he was almost attacked by a fan who invaded the field. Already inside, he was seen with teary eyes, trying to cover his face with his hands, but the frustration was visible.

This was not how neither the star nor the Portuguese imagined the last image of him wearing the national team’s shirt would be. Much less that his time in Qatar would be marked by controversies, such as the dispute with Manchester United on the eve of the tournament and the tantrum after being substituted in the last game of the group stage.

The tantrum with coach Fernando Santos made him lose his place in the team. The only player to score goals in five World Cups, he started as a substitute against Morocco. When he entered, already in the second half, he could not avoid the setback by 1-0.

Three months after the end of the World Cup and after moving to Al Nassr, from Saudi Arabia, the number 7 will have a new chance to rewrite his farewell to Portugal. This Friday (17), he was summoned by coach Roberto Martinez for the first two rounds of the Euro Cup qualifiers this month, against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

Playing in the competition was already part of his plans before the World Cup. But since the defeat to Morocco, the star has never been adamant about his continuity in the national team. Throughout his career, however, he has stated more than once that defending his country and playing in the Champions League are his biggest motivations.

At the moment, only one of these things is available to you.

Cristiano Ronaldo has the most caps for a national team in the history of men’s football, with 196 in all, a record he shares with Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait.

Al-Mutawa is still active and could face the Philippines next Thursday (23), the same day that Portugal receives Liechtenstein.

Hired in January to replace Fernando Santos, fired after eight seasons at the helm of the Portuguese team, Martinez had a conversation with Cristiano Ronaldo before calling him up.

At the meeting, the coach said that he had all the athletes who were in Qatar. Not to mention that the continuity of the number 7 shirt in the selection will benefit the finances of the Portuguese Football Federation, with sponsorships and other image rights.

The Portuguese idol was mainly responsible for changing Portugal’s level among the selections. It was with him that the country won the first two titles in its history, the 2016 Euro and the 2018-19 Nations League, in the debut of the competition.

The achievements were a reflection not only of Cristiano Ronaldo’s individual talent, but also of the formation of a winning mentality among the Portuguese, which favored the emergence of two good crops of great athletes, such as some of the names that were recently at the World Cup in Qatar : Rúben Dias, Nuno Mendes, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, João Félix and Rafael Leão.

Young people, they will certainly be part of the whole cycle until the next World Cup, in 2026, and they still recognize in Cristiano Ronaldo a leader to be inspired even if he is far from the big centers of football —he has nine games and eight goals for Al Nassr , second in the Saudi league, one point behind Al Ittihad.

Therefore, even if he is not with the squad in four years, the presence of the number 7 at the beginning of a new cycle is important for Martinez’s work.

“It is a process that we have to face naturally, with responsibility, and we will make important decisions for the team”, stated the captain.

He will be the fifth coach to manage the star in the national team. Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Bento and Fernando Santos passed through the position before him, with the Brazilian responsible for promoting the player’s debut, in 2003, in a friendly against Kazakhstan.

Twenty years later, he will have the chance to show that he is still as important as that 19-year-old who filled the Portuguese with hope.