Portugal will rely on Ronaldo as always, it’s the last EURO for the captain

It was 2004 when 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo shone for the first time at the European Championships. 20 years later, the Portugal captain and legend will be looking for another success, probably the last of his national team career. And even at 38 years old, he will still be a major figure for the Iberian country.

Portugal equals Cristiano Ronaldo. This equation has been true for the last 20 years and will be the case at the Euro in Germany. Even though at the last World Cup in Qatar, coach Santos tried to get rid of his dependence on Ronaldo, whom he sat out in the knockout duels, he received huge criticism from the fans and was also sacked.

The new coach Roberto Martínez is counting on Ronaldo again and the legendary striker repaid his trust with 10 goals in the qualifiers, only Belgian Romelu Lukaku (14) scored more. The Portuguese flew through the qualifiers like the wind – they did not lose a point in 10 matches and only conceded twice, making the overall score 36:2.

Portugal’s nomination for the EURO

Portugal has a great generation, but it is not achieving the results that would be expected. The last success came in the form of gold at EURO 2016, since then players like Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Joao Félix have been included in the squad but it hasn’t brought any great success to Portugal, they haven’t even made it past the quarter-finals since 2016.

So let’s take a closer look at the Czech team’s first opponent at the EURO. Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa will be the number one in goal, with experienced Rui Patrício and José Sá backing him up.

In defence, Martínez will rely on Manchester City’s stopper Rubén Dias, while PSG left back Nuno Mendes is expected to take care of the offensive side. There will be a big battle at right-back between Diogo Dalot and Joao Cancelo, with the former getting preference.

At first glance, the centre of midfield doesn’t have that much quality compared to the attack. Palhinha and Vitinha are likely to start alongside each other in the midfield, with Bruno Fernandes operating in front of them in the number 10.

Attack as the best defence

The biggest strength of the team lies in the attack. Apart from the star Ronaldo, the Portuguese will bring Joao Félix, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leão, Goncalo Ramos and Diogo Jota to Germany. Taking it down to the teams, it sounds really impressive – Barcelona, Manchester City, AC Milan, PSG and Liverpool.

It will be up to Martínez to mix a winning cocktail from this selection that works. However, whichever trio he puts in the starting line-up, he will be left with a formidable force on the bench. Thus, it is the attack that will be the best defence for the Portuguese and the one they will rely on the most.

However, in previous championships, Portugal have always been accused of lacking a system and a way of playing in which the stars have tried to take responsibility into their own hands rather than any team concept. That has changed a bit under Martínez, but they didn’t come up against any strong opponents in qualifying.

In the group stage, the Portuguese will first face the Czech Republic, then challenge Turkey and finally Georgia. Ronaldo and co. are the clear favourites of the group, if they improve their team concept, they can be among the overall favourites.

Ideal line-up

Costa
Dalot – Dias – Inacio – Mendes
Palhinha – Vitinha
Fernandes
B.Silva – C. Ronaldo – Félix

Source: Portugal national football team, UEFA