Portugal, which has advanced through the play-offs for three consecutive times, is once again on the stage of fate after 8 years. Cristiano Ronaldo is 37 years old, can he still score 4 goals as he did back then?
Before breaking the wrist with Italy, they must first pass turkey. The opponents are not generalists, having won France and the Netherlands in the European and World Preliminaries in the past two years.
01. Regular time: Ronaldo is no longer an arrow on the front line
The years are not spared, even if it is as strong as C Luo, there will now be a sense of powerlessness of the hero's white head. He is no longer a leading arrow, and now wants Ronaldo to play a role on the offensive end, needing teammates to be able to push forward and speed up, while someone storms the defense before C Ronaldo, making him the attack point of the second wave.
Ronaldo's strength lies in his own experience, position and prejudgment, as well as decisive choice. Before Portugal let Jota, Bernardo Silva and the nominal center forward Sanchez, in fact, a large number of forwards in front of the Sanchez, formed the attacking 3-man group around C Ronaldo, creating opportunities for C Ronaldo to exert power. However, such an arrangement will also lead to insufficient number of defenders, and it is difficult for the team to balance attack and defense.
If Ronaldo is willing to make more sacrifices for the team and make himself a "cannon fodder" on the offensive end at some point, things will be much easier.
This time, if he can form a crossover with Bessie's cutting angle, it will maximize the attention of the opponent's defense and make it easier for Jota to hold the ball.
However, Ronaldo still seems to want his teammates to attack, so he stays where he is. Jota and Bessie made mistakes at the first time, and C Ronaldo's decisive long-range shot was of high quality, but unfortunately it was saved by the goalkeeper.
It can be said that the current C Ronaldo is no longer the vanguard of the first line under conventional tactics. In this way, the physical consumption of the teammates behind them will be greater, and the requirements for the team's offensive and defensive balance will be greater.
The last time he faced Serbia in the world preliminary group stage, Ronaldo failed to shoot right in three shots (the above long-range shot was blown foul first, winning a free kick opportunity, but Cristiano did not play well). I don't know if this time, the 37-year-old C Luo can turn the tide.
02. Fight time: Ronaldo may still change the result at any time
The biggest feature of Cristiano Ronaldo's career is scoring goals, and his shooting efficiency is higher than expected most of the time (the actual number of goals scored is greater than the expected number of goals).
However, in the past 1 year or so, C Luo has come to a fork in the road. Of course, it is not easy for a 37-year-old veteran to score goals consistently and cannot ask for too much.
Whether in Portugal or Manchester United, C Ronaldo is now more suitable to play an offensive tandem and a second-row counter-insert attacker. However, this 37-year-old veteran also has his own skill at the bottom of the box: kill!
When the team's three armed forces use their lives, the overall forward pressure, ready to fight a blow, the man who takes scoring as the signature of his career can still rely on his experience, running position and sense of grabbing points, as well as excellent bounce to find the opportunity to score.
Brothers follow me! This may be the 37-year-old C Luo, the last stubbornness.
What he needs is to have a number of teammates around him who are attacking together, so that it is difficult for the other party to lock C Luo as the first target of defense. Give a little space to be brilliant, C Ronaldo's kill has appeared more than once this season, and there may be a next.
03. Turkey is not a soft persimmon: France and the Netherlands are both losers
For Portugal, don't focus all your attention on their opponent, Italy, because first they have to pass Turkey.
Despite being overtaken by the Netherlands after being replaced, Turkey has won France and the Netherlands in the European Preliminaries and the World Preliminary Round in the past two years, and its performance is still quite good.
This Turkish team has a characteristic, that is, there are many long-range shooting masters. There are many men in the team who can play a cloud-piercing arrow, and Yazchi, Char khanoglu and Irmaz can do this.
On the Portuguese side, Pepe and Ruben Díaz, two centre-backs with good top ability, were absent, and the team's defensive strength was greatly reduced.
Fonte and the back Pereira cameo in the middle of the defensive line, they both move more slowly, if the Portuguese back is not strong, it may be really possible to let the Turkish team through the heart.
Conclusion:
If the Turkish team takes the lead, can the Portuguese have the ability to reverse? Will Ronaldo complete a kill or lead the team to win? The results will be revealed tomorrow.