UEFA Euro 2024: Mod Note Added 2/7/24

Ide rather not have to watch the "top level" he was playing last night. Done nothing except miss a penalty and pose for cameras.

Happy to see pundits have finally copped he is sht at free kicks too. All the hype every time he stepped up had no basis in reality.

I've a couple of bets where I need France to progress, actually somewhat worried Martinez will grow a pair now and drop Ronaldo after that farce last night. Crying on the pitch after he missed a penalty and there's still 15 minutes to go, he should have been hooked and forced into international retirement there and then. Surely there'll be some pressure from the Portuguese press to drop Ronaldo now, the whole world can see he needs to go.

Quite possible he'll start the next match and be subbed off on 60 minutes and that'll be that.

When did Ronaldo last score from a free kick?

I'm not even a Ronaldo fan. Or United. Or Real. Or anything connected to Ronaldo. I suppose I like Portugal a bit.

Anyway, I have no skin in the game and I agree he's vain beyond belief, always was, and he's not the player he once was. But I still think he has a lot to offer and most importantly I cant understand why some seem to take delight in the man's downfall.

Anybody else excited for Austria-Turkey tonight? Especially after yesterday's drudgery.

Not too bothered about Netherlands-Romania.

Two teams that go gung-ho. Looking forward to that.

There have been an awful lot of dire games in the first round and the second round is much the same so far. I don't think the increased size format works. Too many minnows got through.

Spain, Austria and Germany are about the only teams I'm currently making a real effort to not miss playing.

Every other team/player doesn't take the shot every single time.

Interesting how people come on here and state that its only supporters of "certain teams" that are berating Ronaldo, without being honest enough to state that they support a different team, who perhaps have skin in the game.

I challenge anyone to look at the bare facts, dispassionately, and not come to the conclusion that this is not normal behaviour, and is actually detrimental to the chances of Portugal. I know people won't be able to, but that's football.

If you mention the fact that Lionel Messi sat out the dead rubber in the Copa America, as an example of clever "asset management" you are put down as anti-Ronaldo, when you are actually saying - why doesn't Roberto Martinez use his entire squad, just like Spain did (25 of 26 players selected now) and build the squad bonds for Portugal?

Not everything has to be either/or but people here just have to consistently jump into their own trenches and refuse to see what's going on.

The Portuguese media are, belatedly, waking up to the realities out there

He got 4/10 with this description "Another poor performance from the captain. Just like in the last game – although less so – he spent a lot of time on the ground. Then he made poor decisions in finishing areas, poor passes in front of goal – he ruined some plays – and was inaccurate in finishing, even though he only had a clear goal-scoring opportunity at the end of the second half. He also has a low success rate in free kicks, something that has been seen a lot. He missed a penalty. Ronaldo doesn't attack space, doesn't explore depth, doesn't offer football in front of goal and doesn't finish like he did at other times in his career – and it's debatable whether Ronaldo, in this form, is more of a virtue than a flaw for this team. What would have happened with Ronaldo coming off the bench, fresh and with the Slovenians exhausted? We'll never know.'

Yes indeed, we will never know.

At the last WC, his presence was similarly problematic. Didn't he get dropped (and his influencer missus was whingeing about it) only for Goncalo Ramos to come in and score a hat-trick? However, they went out in the next round, iirc, and Fernando Santos left.

That would have been a good time for Ronaldo to leave the national setup or Martinez to come in and make a statement on the matter when he took over. Neither happened and here we are two years later.

At 39, and playing in a weaker league, it's only natural that he's not at his peak. There's nothing to be ashamed of and there's certainly a case to be made for him to bow out gracefully. Is it because Ronaldo is applying the pressure, the media or the FA, or a combination?

The media might be changing. He got a 4 above and A Bola gave him a 6, saying he was "anxious" and "crazy to score" and the pressure on him (whether internal or external or both) could be seen to affect him. He knows what's expected of him and I guess he also knows he's not delivering as he used to. There's also an interview where he's said it is "undoubtedly" his final Euros.

Its a shame to see a great decline. Its not to disparage the rest of his career, its just acknowledging a fact.

I'm not a fanboy of players, in general, and I enjoy that in our lifetime we've seen two of the all time greats in action. We should be able to look at both as individuals instead of constantly comparing them and letting fanboyism get in the way, though I notice that carry on more from younger fans. That's not suggesting that all criticism comes from that place or that it isn't merited.

I have a lot of admiration for Ronaldo because he's trained exceptionally hard to have such longevity (he's actually older than Rooney, anyone seen a picture of him lately?) but that will only take him so far. Wiki says he's played over 1,300 games since 2001 while Messi has played nearly two hundred less, though only since 2003.

This is a case of him struggling to accept that his time is coming to an end and he'll need help with that. He doesn't seem to have the right people around him for that process.

When did anybody?

Opinions on Ronaldo's personality are unimportant.

Fact of the matter is that Goncali Ramos and Diogo Jota are both on the bench and are levels above the Ronaldo of today.

Ramos has eight goals in13 appearances for his national team too.

Ronaldo should be on the bench and I'd say he'd be a good option to bring on with fifteen or so minutes left.

Your making a purposely simplistic argument there.

Most people are saying Portugal should do what other teams do and try different things at different times. Mix it up a bit.

With Portugal it's just Ronaldo spending 5 minutes doing his pose only to miss every single time.

I don't know. I think it would give a boost to the opposition if they saw Ronaldo coming on for the last 15 minutes unlike Jotta coming on for example.

Be great for his teammates and gives a big lift for the fans in the stadium, and also just as a player he's tailor made for that sort of role now. If you're chasing a goal and starting to lump it into their box in the last 10 minutes, a fresh Ronaldo off the bench is exactly who you want in there, rather than the auld lad we're currently seeing who's been wrecked tired for at least half an hour already.

3 World Cups for one player alone (and one of only two to score twice in victories)

. . . . and with this vision, and yes, unselfishness, putting the ball on a plate for the yet to arrive Carlos Alberta.

Also, did the Cruyff turn, in 1960 (when Cruyff was only 13!)

I'm probably too old too !

gakpo makes it 1-0 to the dutch.

Nice play from Romania there

The Dutch are starting to impose themselves more. If they manage a second before half time it's game over

Those types of collisions can be nasty - happened to me in the past and I wasn't right for a week after it

The Dutch are playing lovely football. Right up there with some of the Spanish play on Sunday.