During the international break, several national teams are busy with qualifying schedules. In mainland Europe, in particular, they are busy with the upcoming 2024 UEFA European Cup qualifiers. The Portuguese national team was one of the teams that performed convincingly in the qualifying period. The consistency shown in the four matches seems to be making Portugal’s path smooth to the 2024 European Cup which will take place in Germany.
Being in the same group as Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovakia, on paper Portugal can say a lot. Without wasting the quality of the team they have, Portugal has so far had no difficulty in winning. From the four matches played, Portugal managed to win with a total collection of 14 goals and without conceding a single goal. This means that Portugal’s front line is balanced by the solidity of the back line.
With this, Portugal’s new coach Roberto Martinez apparently didn’t need long to polish Portugal’s strengths. Armed with experience from the Belgian national team, Martinez is already used to quality players. In general, Portugal is not short of talented and quality players. It could be said that Portugal has quality players in every position.
Obviously, when superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from the match against Luxembourg, Martinez had a number of substitute players such as Goncalo Ramos, Diego Jota and Joao Felix on the front lines. In fact, against Luxembourg, where Portugal made history by winning 9-0, Martinez changed the formation to give more space to players with attacking instincts.
When Ronaldo was played, Martinez played a 4-3-3 formation. However, when Ronaldo was absent, Portugal played with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Diego Jota and G. Ramos came on from the first minute. However, these two players did not play when Ronaldo played.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s work with the Portuguese national team is still not over. So far, Ronaldo has not said the final word about taking part in the Portuguese national team. Perhaps, there is still the ambition to continue playing for Portugal at Euro 2024.
On the other hand, the national team also did not just let Ronaldo not be included with the national team. There is no doubt about his goal contribution because he is still the highest scorer in the Portuguese national team during the European Cup qualifying period.
However, a dilemma arises when there is a comparison between when Ronaldo played with the team and when he didn’t. This comparison emerged when Portugal won 9-0 over Luxembourg and without the presence of Ronaldo, who accumulated yellow cards in the match against Slovakia.
Not a few supporters think that Portugal performed better than with Ronaldo. In fact, there are supporters who state that Portugal would be better off retiring Ronaldo because in reality Portugal has quality young players such as Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos.
The reaction of the Portugal fans reached the national team coach. Responding to this, as reported in Mirror.co.uk (12/9/23), he said that we don’t need to make comparisons between players. Furthermore, Martinez stated that Ronaldo is an important player but his team is ready to win without Ronaldo’s presence.
Martinez’s statement could show the dilemma regarding Ronaldo’s existence. The problem is that Ronaldo is considered important because of his popularity and influence and not based on his quality to improve the team’s performance.
However, Ronaldo cannot be fully expected to play at the highest level. At Euro 2024, Ronaldo will most likely be 39 years old.
Instead of continuing to hope for Ronaldo’s quality, Martinez actually still has the opportunity to utilize young players and play formations without Ronaldo’s presence. Portugal’s advantage is that they are certain to qualify. Therefore, the matches leading up to the Euro 2024 competition are a momentum to maintain the formation without Ronaldo’s role.
Furthermore, Ronaldo can remain part of the team. However, his role should not be prioritized. With this, both the team and the players themselves must agree with decisions related to the team, including sitting and being on the bench.
Ronaldo’s influence is quite strong. This influence will weaken as the team’s performance continues to improve when Ronaldo is not playing. A convincing team performance and without Ronaldo’s presence will be one way to ease the dilemma of Ronaldo’s presence in the team.
ASL
