Portugal’s head coach, Fernando Santos says Portugal are not a one-man team reliant on their captain and all-time leading goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal will face Uruguay in the second match of the round of 16.
Ronaldo had led the way for Portugal at the FIFA World Cup 2018. He scored four goals in three games to help the European champions reach the last 16 against Uruguay in Sochi on Saturday.
Santos was inevitably asked about Ronaldo on the eve of the knockout clash. The Portugal boss revealed he had won himself a free coffee after betting that he would field questions on the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Responding to the initial question, Santos said,
“I have to repeat; I always understand the question. Everybody knows that we depend on our players. We have one of the best in the world, but if you ask me, [Luis] Suarez, [Edinson] Cavani, you can ask the same question of Uruguay because you have great players in every team.”
When the attention turned to Ronaldo, and whether Portugal relies on him, the coach said,
“It’s the team that has to play. If Ronaldo plays alone, we will lose. We have to be strong as a team as strong as Uruguay are as a team. It’s very hard to rely on a single player. Even if you score three goals, you need the support of a full team. It’s going to be a confrontation between two teams of high quality,”
“You look at the midfield; they have players in European leagues – one for Juventus, one for Inter, one for PSG and one for Barca. We’re talking about great teams and players. It’s true, of course, when both teams manage to cancel each other out, then individuals come to the fore. I hope my team is up to the task then Ronaldo will make the difference,” he concluded.
Portugal finished as runners-up to Spain in Group B. While, Uruguay kept three successive clean sheets, as they topped Group A ahead of hosts Russia.