The Portuguese National Team have been sent packing from the ongoing EURO 2024 in Germany courtesy of a 5-3 loss to the French National Team in a penalty shootout. While the Portuguese National Team will go back and plan ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it is important for the coach to have a rethink on inviting Cristiano Ronaldo for the tournament.
The Portuguese captain has been having a very poor performance for his country not just in the EURO tournament but in other tournaments in recent years. His decline was very noticeable in the 2022 FIFA World where he scored just a goal which came from the penalty spot against the Ghanaian National Team. Also, Due to his poor performance, he was dropped to the bench by the former coach of Portugal while Ramos took his place and became an instant hot by scoring a hatrick in his first start at the 2022 World Cup.
In the ongoing EURO 2024, Ronaldo did not score a single goal in 5 games despite the goal scoring opportunities that was created for him by the creative midfielders like Bruno Fernandez and Bernardo Silva. In fact he missed what would have been the winner in the game against France. Also in the round of 16 against Slovenia, he missed from the penalty spot too.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a great and talented player without any doubt but with his rapid decline, he cannot hold his own again against top players that are playing in European clubs despite his prowess in the lowly rated Saudi Pro League.