Facing Switzerland with an encouraging display (6-1) for the rest of the 2022 World Cup, Portugal stumbled to the carpet in the quarter-finals. Uninspired against Morocco, the Lusitanians will never find the solution and will leave the competition through the back door. A harsh disappointment also marked a turning point for the Portuguese. Team star for more than 15 years, Cristiano Ronaldo had a downturn during the tournament Transition from an indisputable leader to an alternative. Obviously, his situation would affect the team and split an entire country. Free, in the disastrous 2022/2023 season for him personally and with the sirens emanating from the Gulf with interest from the Saudis of victory, Cristiano Ronaldo may have said goodbye to his international future in this defeat and is likely to retire internationally. feared. It now remains to be seen what the five-pointer’s Ballon d’Or decision will be for the rest of his career.
Less difficult during this tournament, but also with age, Pepe (39) may have said goodbye to the possibility of winning the World Cup. With his age and the emergence of young talents such as Antonio Silva (19 years old), Gonzalo Inácio (21 years old) or even Diogo Let (23 years old) without forgetting Ruben Dias (25 years old), the Portuguese rear guard will surely be busy no matter what. His decision to continue with Portugal or not. However, with Cristiano Ronaldo, the two Portuguese footballers who have accumulated 329 caps between them are nearing the end of their beautiful story. Whether or not they decide to continue the adventure until Euro 2024, the swan song seems to be on the tip of its nose.
With or without Fernando Santos?
The end of a story could also concern coach Fernando Santos. He arrived in 2014 and won the Euro 2016 championship as well as the 2019 Nations League, The Lusitanian technician has often sworn responsibility for some major setbacks. Obviously, this new failure did not pass on to the Portuguese public. readers from A Bola 93.6% in particular wanted him gone. However, he still has a contract until June 2024 and his ouster does not appear to be on the side of the Portuguese Federation. When asked about his future, the main interested party spoke into a microphone Sports TV And if he shows himself disappointed, he doesn’t want to talk about quitting.
“From tomorrow? I’m going to Lisbon and then I’ll talk to the president and find out what’s best for the Portuguese team. Always, after any competition, the president and I talk and see what we’re going to do. When we get to Portugal, let’s talk calmly and see what analysis we’ll do. I don’t know what If it’s a flop. Those resignation questions don’t ask. I’ve been here since 2014, and resignations are not part of my dictionary and neither is the boss. We didn’t go as far as expected, yeah, the team is quality, we could have done better, the players worked hard “There are days when he lacks a bit of luck and today that was the case,” said Fernando Santos.
vindictive spirit
With a new coach or with Fernando Santos, with Cristiano Ronaldo and/or Pepe, or without them, we can say that Portugal is in the dark compared to some of the tough guys. However, there is still one certainty, this team’s talent is not a problem. “This generation will continue to have opportunities to do great things, I have no doubt, they were seen here. But disappointingly, the team was happy, confident and motivated, and very strong. We were convinced we could go all the way and win.” He especially wanted to remember Fernando Santos.
With a massive workforce with talent in every position, Portugal certainly has one of the most talented groups in its history. Representing the future, Rafael Leão spoke on social networks with a speech of revenge and revenge already: “With the pool of work we have, the ambition has been to go as far as we can… be more solid, to win the World Cup. We show our value as a team and even with a sense of sadness we take full advantage of this competition! We faced an opponent who had something more than us and so It has passed… It does not end here, we will go through this chapter together and for sure the future will be bright. Thanks to the Portuguese who was present at all matches for his support!”
A certain talent, leadership that raises doubts
With Diogo Dalot (23, Manchester United), Rafael Leao (23, Milan), Diogo Costa (23, Porto), Joao Felix (23, Atletico Madrid), Vitinha (22, Paris Saint-Germain), Gonzalo Ramos (21, Benfica) or Nuno Mendes (20 years old, Paris Saint-Germain) or Antonio Silva (19 years old, Benfica), Portugal already knows that they will be able to approach the upcoming deadlines with a talented team that can bring them closer to victory. We can also check the names of Pedro Neto (22 years old, Wolverhampton), Fabio Vieira (22 years old, Arsenal), Fabio Carvalho (20 years old, Liverpool), Goncalo Inácio (20 years old, Sporting CP) or even Francisco Trincão (22 years old, Sporting CP) and this underscores the existence of an exceptional gathering to which are added the leaders of this team such as Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) and Ruben Dias (Manchester City).
But the exact nature of the latter raises questions. The three Mancunians inherited 5, 3 and 4 respectively in our ratings for the match against Morocco This performance highlighted the various shortcomings of the three players with Portugal. As for Bruno Fernandes, he has managed his responsibilities, but he has done too much even if it means frustrating him by wanting to seek personal exploitation. For Bernardo Silva, it is quite the opposite as he disappeared into the difficulty. Ruben Dias was guilty of the Moroccan goal and is less calm with the Lusitanians than at the club. Everyone has their responsibilities and we have to learn from them. Because the 2022 World Cup has proven more than ever that Cristiano Ronaldo can no longer hide the ills of this team and that he will take more responsibility from the executives to dream of a better future. The next meeting, Euro 2024, is for Portugal who will have to learn from the terrible disappointment…
