Cristiano Ronaldo, who has achieved outstanding success at the club level, and together with the Portuguese national team, often made noise in the European arena. He has gold, silver and bronze medals in the European Championships, as well as a victory in the League of Nations.

However, at the world championships, the titled football player did not manage to catch on even for medals. The player made his fifth attempt in Qatar, but failed to achieve what he wanted, sensationally leaving the tournament following the results of the quarterfinal game with Morocco.

The Portuguese can only blame himself for the failure.

Fair accusations

The Portuguese national team completed its journey at the 2022 World Cup at the ¼ final stage, losing 0-1 to the Moroccans. The Atlas Lions, all of Africa and the Arab world now have a big celebration. In the top four, a representative of this continent appeared for the first time. But for the Europeans, the outcome of the match was a real disappointment.

If, before the start of the World Cup, someone would suggest that the Portuguese would stop in the quarterfinals, this could hardly be surprising. Looking at the grid, it was quite possible to predict that the team of Fernando Santos would reach the playoffs from the first line, cope with the opponent in the 1/8 finals, and then stop when they met with the Germans or the Spaniards.

But Germany and Spain did not reach the ¼ finals, and the Moroccans, at least on paper, the “team of the elite” should have won. But she didn’t win. And this is seen as the merit of the national team of Morocco, and the defect of the Portuguese. Those who want to find the culprits can safely poke at the coaching staff, football players and even the main star of the national team, Cristiano Ronaldo. In each case, the accusations, at least partially, will still be fair.

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Scoreboard

After losing the match, Cristiano Ronaldo left the field in tears. One of the most titled football players on the planet, together with the national team, won the European Championship and the League of Nations, but it seems that he will no longer be able to lift the World Cup over his head. It is not necessary to count on the participation of the 37-year-old striker in the next tournament – by that time the Portuguese will probably end his career. It seems that his best achievement in the tournament will remain fourth place in 2006.

Can Ronaldo take credit for playing in Qatar? If we take goals scored as a criterion for success, then it is unlikely. For an established scorer, one penalty in a group stage game is not the greatest success. Moreover, this penalty was also extremely controversial – FIFA experts later stated that the referee pointed to the point by mistake.

However, Cristiano scored few goals in previous world championships. The exception was the tournament in Russia, where he pleased the fans four times. In Qatar, by the way, the Portuguese went further than at the 2018 World Cup, but it would be wrong to say that this was done thanks to the captain.

In Ronaldo’s not the most productive game, someone can blame the head coach Fernando Santos, who did not allow the main star of the national team to finish the group stage meetings until the final whistle. And in the playoffs, the specialist completely put the legend on the bench, which allows us to say that the football player had no chance to prove himself at 100%.

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But did Goncalo Ramos in the match against Switzerland not prove with a hat-trick that it was not for nothing that he appeared on the field from the first minutes, and not a star partner? Yes, in the quarter-finals, neither Ramos nor the other Portuguese starters scored. However, Ronaldo had enough time in the second half to build at least one goal with his eminent partners.

Of course, the Portuguese tried, and the Moroccans spoiled everything with their “bus”. But why these excuses, if the score is on the scoreboard?

“No problem”

The leader of the national team may not be able to play, but with his actions and words, in any case, he must set up his partners in the right way. What Cristiano said to the Portuguese in the locker room, how he encouraged them before the matches, it is impossible to say for sure. However, rumors surfaced, making it doubtful that Ronaldo had a beneficial effect on the atmosphere within the team.

– We have no problems with the captain of the national team. We have been friends for many years. Players make decisions, it does not affect us in any way. I have already said that this issue was finally resolved, and he set an excellent example as a great captain, – Fernando Santos was quoted by Record.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo never threatened to leave the team during the World Cup in Qatar. Every day he achieves unique achievements, serves the national team and the country. This should be respected. This testifies to his undoubted degree of commitment to the national team, the Portuguese Football Federation said in a statement.

It would seem that these two statements refute any guesses that Ronaldo had a row in Qatar or was simply not serious about his duties as a captain. However, why did it even need to talk about friendship and unique achievements, if everything is in order? Just because, according to insiders, Cristiano acted somewhat differently than the captain should have.

According to the Portuguese publication Record, the striker was furious when he learned that the coach decided to leave him on the bench. And in response, he threatened to leave the team. Maybe the Portuguese messed up something, but the Spanish Marca added fire, noting that Ronaldo refused to warm up in the company of the rest of the substitutes before the game with Morocco.

It is up to the reader to believe journalists or officials. However, there is still a possibility that the possible actions and words of the captain did not affect the atmosphere in the team in the best way. It was not possible to cope with the Moroccans – now all that remains is to grieve.

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It would be wrong if the career of a world football legend ends with these tears – some victories ahead of Cristiano are probably still waiting. But it seems that the Portuguese will no longer stand on a par with Pele, Maradona and Zidane, Ronaldo missed his last chance.