Roberto Martinez Insists Cristiano Ronaldo Remains Important to Portugal
The post Roberto Martinez Insists Cristiano Ronaldo Remains Important to Portugal appeared first on The12thMan.
Portugal national football team manager Roberto Martinez has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo remains very important to the team after he starred for them in their 6-0 defeat of Luxembourg.
Against Luxembourg, Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Portugal in the ninth minute of the match. Joao Felix doubled Portugal’s lead in the 15th minute before Bernardo Silva made it 3-0. Ronaldo then bagged his brace in the 31st minute as Portugal established a four-goal cushion.
Otavio scored Portugal’s fifth goal of the match in the 77th minute before Rafael Leao completed their rout of Luxembourg with their sixth goal in the 88th minute.
This was the second consecutive game in which Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a brace. The Portuguese superstar was also at the double when they routed Liechtenstein 4-0 in their first game of the UEFA EURO Qualifiers campaign.
Speaking after Portugal’s defeat of Luxembourg, Roberto Martinez insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo remains important to the team.
“All players have an important role. The younger ones due to their willingness to play and players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Rui Patricio, and Bernardo Silva bring experience. It’s important to have a complete dressing room.”
Cristiano Ronaldo recently became the most-capped player in men’s international football when he made his 197th appearance for Portugal in their game against Liechtenstein. He extended that record against Luxembourg as he featured in his 198th match for Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 122 goals for Portugal, the most by anyone in men’s international football. The 38-year-old will be eyeing to add more goals to his tally and extend the record even further.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo recently revealed that he had considered retirement from international football after Portugal’s disappointing FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign.
The post Roberto Martinez Insists Cristiano Ronaldo Remains Important to Portugal appeared first on The12thMan.
