Soccer
Ronaldo finally got his World Cup knockout goal — is it time for Portugal to bench their aging superstar?
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TORONTO — Father Time waits for no man, not even one of the greatest footballers of all time.
However, Portugal and head coach Roberto Martinez have been very patient with Cristiano Ronaldo in this World Cup, perhaps even to the team's detriment.
The 41-year-old has earned his place in the annals of the sport's greats, but it's been obvious for a while now that he's nowhere near the absurdly high level that made him a superstar. In fact, there's a strong argument to be made that Ronaldo isn't at the level of a starter for an aspiring World Cup-calibre side.
My DAZN News colleague Ryan Baldi made that argument ahead of this match, asking whether Ronaldo has been holding his Portugal teammates back at this competition. It's a compelling claim, based on the obvious fact that Ronaldo is no longer the athletic specimen he was during his prime years, which prevents him from making the explosive runs that were his trademark for so long.
From my perch high above the pristine playing surface at Toronto Stadium on Thursday night, it was very apparent that Ronaldo could no longer keep up with the play of his high-octane teammates for a full match. With a "heat dome" having settled over much of this part of North America, Toronto has been one of the hottest places on Earth this week, and on Thursday it felt like 42 degrees Celsius at kick-off despite the game starting at 7pm local time, which only served to slow Ronaldo down even more.
Playing as a No. 9, the Portugal captain rarely crossed back into his own half, often cutting a solitary figure high up the pitch while the rest of his team defended against a spirited Croatian attack for large stretches of their round of 32 encounter. And when the ball came into Portuguese possession, as it did often, their attacks stalled as Ronaldo was unable or unwilling to participate in the swift movements needed to bypass the Croatian defence.
Portugal still got their chances — in the first half alone they produced nine shots. But only one of them were on target in the first 45 minutes, and none of those shots came from the foot or head of Ronaldo.
Things came more into focus in the second half as the Croatians sprung to life, taking the lead in the 53rd minute and pushing forward in a manner that was absent from the opening 45 minutes of play. With Portugal on the backfoot, Ronaldo was hardly seen, until a fortune smiled on his team just past the hour mark after a rare foray into the Croatian final third. Portugal had drawn a penalty, and there was no one else who was going to step up and take the spot-kick.
With a deep breath, Portugal's all-time leading scorer strode and delivered a flawless penalty kick, sending the Toronto crowd into a frenzy as they witnessed Ronaldo finally — finally — score a goal in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Ronaldo's historic strike came in the 68th minute, and to his credit it helped rally his side after a rather lacklustre showing up to that point. Portugal's renewed sense of urgency spurred one of the greatest endings to a match that I've witnessed live, but one thing stood out in stark fashion.
In the midst of the rollercoaster ride that saw Portugal level things up through their captain's spot-kick, to Goncalo Ramos' dramatic stoppage-time winner and Croatia's disallowed equalizer after that — most of the thrilling action of a truly memorable knockout battle between two European powers came without Cristiano Ronaldo on the field.
Martinez had been criticized throughout this tournament for his usage of Ronaldo in this World Cup. Despite being the oldest outfield player in the tournament, Ronaldo had played each and every minute of Portugal's group stage matches. And yet, with the spectre of extra time and penalty kicks looming, the head coach had finally done what many had been screaming for him to do: pull Ronaldo out of the match.
The 81st-minute substitution brought an audible gasp at the stadium as fans realized who was being summoned to leave the pitch. The pro-Portugal crowd then gave Ronaldo a massive applause as he stepped over the line, with Ruben Neves replacing him. With the match still very much in the balance at that point, Martinez's decision sent a bold message that Ronaldo, of all people, was not going to be among the players to decide Portugal's fate.
What came next has already been well documented, as Portugal completed the comeback to win 2-1, but now that Ronaldo has gotten the monkey off his back and scored in a World Cup knockout match, does Martinez finally have the freedom to use the aging superstar as he should? Or will we see Ronaldo right back into Portugal's starting XI in the last-16 against Spain?
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