The Portugal captain is under pressure after a poor start to the World Cup, with some Selecao supporters calling for him to quit.
Not for the first time in this World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo left the field disappointed. There were still 25 minutes left to play in Portugal’s group match against South Korea and both teams were tied with one goal each. Ronaldo clearly wanted to stay but Fernando Santos had seen enough.
“You’re always in a hurry to get me out,” muttered the struggling Selecao captain to himself.
Then, walking towards Pepe to hand him the captain’s armband, he exchanged words with Cho Gue-sung. The South Korean striker was also in a hurry, his side needing a goal, so he told Ronaldo to go ahead. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner told Cho to shut up – “because he has no right.”
However, Ronaldo didn’t have it either. Not his normal level of authority anyway. At the Education City Stadium, the striker again struggled to get into the game. Apart from inadvertently playing Kim Yong-gwon in Korea’s draw, Ronaldo contributed nothing.
He had just two shots, none of which were on target, and managed just 26 touches – fewer than any other player in Portugal’s starting line-up, including goalkeeper Diogo Costa (41).
A great hero of the game was reduced to the role of a spectator. And the South Korean supporters showed Ronaldo neither respect nor mercy.
They started chanting Lionel Messi’s name in the first half. They were leading the supposed GOAT, and they got away with it too.
Ronaldo usually responds to such taunts with goals in the best possible way – but he was replaced long before Son Heung-min set up Hwang Hae-chan to decide the game for South Korea, sending the Taegeuk Warriors into the last 16. Costing Uruguay a deserved 2-1 win.
Portugal still progressed, of course, and as group winners too – that was the main thing. However, Santos was not satisfied.
“We are somewhat disappointed,” Santos admitted. “We are first in the group, but we wanted to win and play better to boost the morale of the players. But this result is a warning to our team.”
And for Ronaldo too. When Santos spoke to the press for the first time after the game, he still hadn’t seen the foul-mouthed reaction to Ronaldo’s substitution. However, when he addressed the media again on Monday, he admitted that he was “not at all happy” with his captain’s comments.
Santos insisted the matter had been resolved “internally” and that all attention was now on the last 16 clash with Switzerland. However, recently Ronaldo has become a talking point in Portugal. There is talk that he has been removed from the captaincy, while others want to sack him.
Questions were already being asked about why he started against Korea as Santos opted to rest his most important players to take the Selecao to the last 16.
However, in fairness to the Portuguese coach, he was in an awkward position. Ronaldo hasn’t looked sharp in Qatar after not getting game time in the first half of the season at Manchester United. So, he obviously needs minutes.
However, the more he has played in this tournament, the worse he looks. His instincts remain as lively as ever – witness the “genius” dive he produced to win a penalty against Ghana in Portugal’s opening match – but both his touch and his timing are off.
His shot conversion rate is 11 percent (for a frame of reference, Kylian Mbappe’s 24%), while he misses as many big chances as Argentina flop Lautaro Martinez (three) and, perhaps more surprisingly, is caught offside more often than anyone. Other players (six) in Qatar 2022.
In that context, it’s no wonder he was so desperate to try and claim a touch on Bruno Fernandes’ cross-cum-shot against Uruguay.
Ronaldo’s numbers are rotten and as a result, he spends most of his time demonstrating to referees and lamenting his misfortune in front of goal. As a result, we are now in the remarkable position where some Portugal pundits and supporters are calling for the international’s all-time record goalscorer to be dropped for Tuesday’s last 16 clash with Switzerland.
For example, a poll in A Bola over the weekend showed 70 percent of voters voting in favor of replacing Ronaldo with Rafael Leo.
The reasoning is understandable. Ronaldo’s role in this team has been hotly debated in Portugal for some time. In September, A Bola also called for “Ronaldo less, Portugal more”, suggesting that the Selecao performed better when Santos put the team rather than the individual first.
Leo also arrived in Qatar in good shape and form. He and Ronaldo have a goal apiece, but while the captain has started all three of the Selecao’s games, Leo has been restricted to just 59 minutes to date. Not even the AC Milan attacker’s lone strike came from the penalty spot.
There is no quicker or more devastating dribbler in the Portugal team. In a World Cup where the winger is proving crucial, it seems counterproductive for Portugal to continue to leave Leo on the bench.
Still, in Ronaldo we’re talking about the game’s greatest finisher, and the ultimate big-game player. The knockout stages are usually where he survives and you can be sure that Switzerland will see Ronaldo relegated to the bench instead of starting up front on Monday night.
“This guy can score at any second,” Xherdan Shaqiri warned on the eve of the match. “He has experience and everyone knows how important he is to Portugal and his team.
“You can’t write off Cristiano, he is one of the best players in the world along with Messi.”
This is undeniably true, but we are still waiting for the real Ronaldo to come to Qatar. Over the past few days, the stars have really come out to play. In Saturday night’s match against Australia, Messi made a statement by recalling the best individual performance of the tournament so far. The next day, Mbappe made it even better.
Now it’s time for Ronaldo to respond. And it needs to be a good one. Otherwise his final World Cup will end in disappointment, and with that, Messi rang in his ears.