After losing 5-3 in a penalty shootout to France, the Portuguese national team was eliminated from the ongoing EURO 2024 in Germany. The Portuguese national team will review its plans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but their coach needs to reconsider inviting Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese skipper has been abysmal for his nation in recent events, including the European Championship. When he scored a penalty kick in a 2022 FIFA World Cup match against the Ghanaian national team, it was clear that he had fallen out of favour. Furthermore, the former Portugal coach benched him because of his lacklustre performance; Ramos, who started the 2022 World Cup in his stead, became an immediate sensation after scoring a hat trick.
Despite having several good scoring chances set up for him by Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandez, Ronaldo failed to score in all five games he played in during the current 2024 European Championship. As a matter of fact, he failed to convert a golden opportunity during the match against France. He also missed a penalty kick in the round of 16 match against Slovenia.
While Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly a fantastic and gifted player in the lowly regarded Saudi Pro League, his precipitous drop has rendered him unable to compete with the top players playing for European clubs.