Another game, another personal milestone. For all the turmoil that has surrounded Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of what is likely to be his final World Cup, the Portugal great continues make his mark. On Thursday he became the first man to score in five World Cups. (More Football News)
Earlier this season he registered the 700th club goal of his career. Not bad for a 37-year-old, who doesn바카라t know where he will be playing beyond Qatar after having his Manchester United contract terminated in the wake of his incendiary interview criticizing manager Erik ten Hag and the club바카라s owners. A win against Uruguay on Monday would secure Portugal바카라s qualification from Group H to the knockout stages with a game to spare after its opening 3-2 win against Ghana.
"This is just the beginning," Ronaldo said in an Instagram post, adding that "there are no impossibilities."
But if soccer's ultimate numbers man is to achieve his ambition of lifting the one major trophy that eludes him, he cannot do it by himself. That much was clear against Ghana, when Portugal also needed goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao to hold on for victory.
Felix is the likeliest heir to Ronaldo바카라s throne as Portugal바카라s inspiration-in-chief 바카라 and has even been linked with a potential move to United.
If Qatar is Ronaldo바카라s last World Cup dance, the moves are not quite as fluid as they once were. His goal against Ghana came from the penalty spot, rather than a moment of the type of individual brilliance on which his career has been built.
That being said, FIFA Technical Study Group member Sunday Oliseh still described as 바카라total genius바카라 his ability to win a disputed foul from Mohammed Salisu that Ghana coach Otto Addo insisted should not have been awarded.
Ronaldo바카라s celebrations suggested he does not care where the goals come from, so long as they keep on coming. But Portugal cannot solely rely on such moments 바카라 and amid the noise that surrounds its most celebrated player, it can be forgotten how much talent coach Fernando Santos has at his disposal.
Not least Atletico Madrid forward Felix, United midfielder Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City. "A selection with the quality of ours has to be favorite in any game,바카라 said Portugal forward Goncalo Ramos ahead of Uruguay at the Lusail Stadium. "It바카라s important to win the second game now."
Uruguay drew 0-0 with South Korea in its first game of the tournament. Like Portugal, Uruguay is blending the old and the new. Ronaldo바카라s long-time rival from their time at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, Luis Suarez, is in an attack that also features the country바카라s new generation of talent in Darwin Nunez and Facundo Pellistri.
At 35, Suarez is no longer the force he once was and he was substituted just after the hour against South Korea. Another 35-year-old in Edinson Cavani replaced him, but Uruguay still couldn't find a goal. Ghana exposed vulnerabilities in Portugal바카라s defense 바카라 but Uruguay will need to be much more clinical if it is to capitalise on Monday.
