Cristiano Ronaldo is now a member of the Portuguese squad, not the only pillar, and the Portuguese squad has become stronger as a result and United need to learn from them.
In Porto, Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo was in average form, squandering two scoring opportunities, getting the lowest score in the team, but still "lying to win", Portugal beat Turkey 3-1 to enter the final of the World Preliminary European Zone Play-offs, just one step away from the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year. Cristiano Ronaldo's Dream of the World Cup continues to live, thanks to Turkey's Irmaz for kicking a flying penalty, but also thanks to the strength of his teammates. The Portuguese team is learning how to leave Cristiano Ronaldo to live a good life. Last year they didn't win in the final two rounds of the World Preliminaries and lost their qualification for automatic promotion. Now they are beginning to change, no longer just hoping for the superstar to complete the task on their own. Next Tuesday, Portugal will face North Macedonia at the Dragon Stadium, a seemingly weak opponent, in fact, it is not easy to deal with, the last European Championship champions Italy did not take advantage of the opportunity, was eliminated by long-range shots, missed the World Cup for the second consecutive time.
In the battle against Turkey, Portugal won not be as safe as a score of 3-1. If the opponent scored a penalty with 5 minutes left in the game and rewrote the score to 2-2, the result could be very different. But the team overcame the difficulties and won with Otavio, Jota and Nunez scoring goals without Ronaldo scoring or assisting. In the past, Portugal has always been accustomed to hoping for Ronaldo's outbreak at key moments, but this time, the fate of the team is no longer heavy on the shoulders of The Manchester United superstar.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 115 international goals have not increased, but the 37-year-old superstar has played his part, he can always attract the biggest attention of the opponent, at this time it is up to his teammates to take advantage of the gap, actively run positions, and execute good tactics.
Like Manchester United, Portugal are not just one Cristiano Ronaldo, they have a strong talent, even if the superstar is sluggish, or a number of key players are absent due to injuries, they still have the strength to beat Turkey. Manchester City centre-back Ruben Díaz, Wolves back Ruben Neves and full-back Semedo, as well as Pedro Neto and Renato Sanchez were all sidelined due to injury, Pepe and Canselo were isolated from covid-19 and Portugal still played well. On their bench, there was even Atletico's €100 million genius João Felix.
Cristiano Ronaldo's form is still not at his best level, as in Manchester United, he has played another role by pulling back more to connect the midfield and the front. For example, Portugal's first goal began with a cross from Ronaldo's counter-offside; the second goal also came from Ronaldo's heel pass to Bruno Fernandez. And his teammates did not shirk their responsibilities, C Ronaldo failed to score, they came to take the baton.
At the end of the day, as long as the team wins, it doesn't matter who scores. For years, opponents have known that as long as C Ronaldo is frozen, it will almost stop portugal's attack. But Turkey found in this game that this logic no longer applies. Cristiano Ronaldo is still a member of the Portuguese team, but it is not impossible without him, which makes Portugal a stronger whole.
And if you blossom more, the opponent will have to relax the defense of C Ronaldo to contain others, so that the Portuguese superstar may decide the winner or loser on the most important occasion at any time, as many people say, you can always trust Ronaldo's fighting spirit.
The biggest problem is that playing for Portugal is a national battle, and Ronaldo's teammates will not cut corners. But that's a different story at Manchester United, where many of his team-mates have been accustomed for years to expressing dissatisfaction with their position in the squad by wagging or obsessing rather than redoubling their efforts. In the national team, C Ronaldo runs less distance, and his teammates will desperately run two more steps to make up for him. In Manchester United, not everyone is willing to do this, because they know that even if they lose and miss the championship, they can still get a salary increase, and C Ronaldo can also carry the pot.