Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, set to play his 6th straight World Cup, said that he was fit and motivated to have a good showing with the national side. Physically?
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, set to play his 6th straight World Cup, said that he was fit and motivated to have a good showing with the national side. “Physically? I’m fine. Have you not seen my matches?,” the 41-year-old told reporters.
“It has been good but tiring because we’ve worked hard. We’ve had the upper hand in our matches, but what matters most is when the ball starts rolling on the 17th, in the first game, and then when the pressure really starts to mount — that’s when we’ll see the true champions,” he added.
Ronaldo who played in both of Portugal’s warm-up matches vs Chile and Nigeria but went score-less, said that they’ll know in the end if Portugal can win the entire tournament.
“We’ll only know at the end. We’re really looking forward to it; we know the World Cup is always a special tournament, just like the European Championship, so we’re heading there full of hope. We have a very good generation, but there are factors we can’t control, such as the matches — winning or not winning is the most important thing,” five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo said. I believe this is a generation that will bring a lot of joy to the Portuguese people,” he said.
“The key is to start well, finish top of the group. Then it’s one game at a time, step by step, taking it calmly, building confidence and getting into our rhythm. “It will depend on many factors, but I’m very confident that things will go well,” he added.
Portugal, who were eliminated by Morocco in the quarterfinal in the 2022 World Cup, has been drawn in Group K in this edition which has teams like DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia.
Portugal will play its opening Group K match against Congo on Wednesday in Houston. The team then faces Uzbekistan on June 23, again in Houston, and finishes the group stage against Colombia on June 27 in Miami.