The “Portuguese superstar” said that his team deserves to win another major international title, to add to its only glory: the Euro 2016 championship.
Ronaldo’s Portugal team will face the Czech Republic in the second match in Group F – right after the opening match between Turkey and Georgia (11 p.m. June 18).
In the match that will take place at dawn this Wednesday, June 19 (Vietnam time) at Red Bull Arena – in Leipzig, Ronaldo is expected to be launched from the start.
If this happens, CR7 will soon complete the Record: 6 times appearing in the finals of Euro tournaments – then after that, he will focus on other things, including “big things”.
Mr. Roberto Martinez and his team passed the qualifying round with an absolute 100% match win record, and they will likely top Group F at Euro 2024.
Ronaldo told reporters as he headed towards the Henri Denlaunay Cup: “I believe that this generation deserves to win in a competition of this scale.”
The former Real Madrid legend won with Portugal in the Euro 2016 final. However, he had to leave the field in the 25th minute due to injury.
For a long time afterward, when the match ended the two main halves with a 0-0 draw and had to enter extra time, the image of Ronaldo standing still, with coach Fernando Santos directing outside the goal line made The audience will never forget…
Currently, even though he has moved to the Saudi Pro League and plays for the less famous and money-rich club Al Nassr, Ronaldo still maintains his killer instinct.
He just completed Al Naasr’s season with 50 goals/51 matches in all competitions. And he also just scored a “double” in the win over Ireland, allowing himself to reach the milestone of 130 goals for the Portuguese team.
Among them, he scored 14 goals in the European arena, the highest achievement – record, much better than the second ranked person, French legend: Michel Platini (9 goals).
Any successful “fire point” situation helps him set a new milestone: 15 goals; and he most likely won’t simply stop there.
If so, he will set another Record: Oldest player to score at the Euro Finals. Previously, Ivica Vastic (Austria) set this record when scoring at the age of 38 – 257 days at Euro 2008.
“I love to enjoy football, and records are just consequences. So, for me, it’s not a goal, because, I think, they come naturally.”
“I am happy to have participated in the Euro finals 6 times. And the important thing is to enjoy it in the best way, play well, make sure the home team can win, try to give it your all and just enjoy it,” Ronaldo confided.
When coach Martinez still put faith in Ronaldo, many people believed that he was “out of time”, especially in the 2022 World Cup, where he was removed from the starting lineup in the last 2 matches and did not score any goals. In live ball situations in the group stage, he “returned the favor” and returned.
The 39-year-old striker played in the starting lineup in every qualifying match possible and scored eight goals during a strong Portuguese victory.
However, Ronaldo himself admitted: “I still have a tingling feeling in my stomach, especially the day before a match.”
“But it’s normal, it’s part of football and I’m glad I feel like that, it’s better than giving up and stopping.”
“I still feel quite motivated, because this is another tournament and we are all prepared in the best way,” Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo’s ambition for “big things” is the motivation for his teammates to follow and continue to try their best…
“I understand Ronaldo very well, he always thinks about big things and that’s why we will maintain motivation with him,” defender Diogo Dalot (MU) said at a press conference on Saturday.
“He is the one who has won the most among us… if we all realize that we have to take it one step at a time, we can go very far and I am confident about that ”.
While Portugal is a favorite to win, on the contrary, their opponents in the middle of this week – the Czech Republic team has not gone beyond the quarter-finals in the past 20 years.
They had a glorious past, but it was also very “vague” – when the champion at Euro 1976 was named Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia is now just a memory, unlike the panelka shot that is still passed down to defenders.
Czechoslovakia has now been separated into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the “lucky” Czech Republic was designated “historical successor”, but there are not many things that are too related.
And what should the Czech Republic do today to stop Ronaldo, from a three-man defense led by Thomas Hales. Most likely, Ronaldo will “explode” right from the Czech Republic.
Ronaldo in the latest training session
