Ronaldo – the all-time leading scorer in international football with 146 goals – has reinvented Portuguese football, transforming its mentality like no player before him.
At his previous five World Cups, he has arrived with an untouchable status yet calls for him to take a step back and play a lesser role on the pitch are growing.
“He doesn’t play to win, he plays to be the main figure,” argued Antonio Simoes, a member of the Portugal side who finished third at the 1966 World Cup.
“Do you understand that it’s the opposite of Eusebio? Let’s call things by their name. I have nothing against him. I can still see, I can still hear and I can still think. But I can’t run away from the reality of the facts.”
Having found the net three times in the United States and Canada, Ronaldo has now scored at all six World Cups he has played in.
A penalty against Iran in 2006 was followed by a goal against North Korea in Cape Town four years later. His only goal at the 2014 World Cup was against Ghana in Brasilia.
Then came a hat-trick against Spain in a group stage match in Sochi in 2018 followed, five days later, by the winner against Morocco in Moscow.
Ronaldo’s only goal in Qatar in 2022 was a penalty against Ghana. Before scoring from the spot against Croatia last week, he scored two in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in Houston on 23 June.
“His leadership and that work in the final third is still one of the best in the world,” said Martinez, when asked about his decision to continue to start Ronaldo.
Since Martinez took over in 2023 after leaving his previous role as Belgium head coach, Ronaldo has featured in 36 of Portugal’s 44 games, with most of his absences coming through injury or suspension.
Portugal recorded their biggest win of the cycle in one of those matches when Ronaldo was not involved – a 9-0 drubbing of Luxembourg in Faro in September 2023.
Their second-biggest victory, a 9-1 over Armenia in Porto last November, also came without Ronaldo.
Unsurprisingly, after both games, discussions over whether the team play better without their captain quickly returned – but fans continue to worship the player “who made us dream”.
