The issue with Portugal is en masse.
You have Ronaldo being selfish cause he REALLY wants the 1000 goals. At any cost.
You have the portugese football association clinging too much on his status as an icon than focus on building the next generation. They will never have another Ronaldo but he is a unrealistic measuring bar they set for themselves.
You can visibly see the team doesnt like him.
And mainly, Ronaldo doesn't have it anymore. Do not misunderstand, he is still a good player but he is just not in the state he believes himself to be.

I just want to add:
I feel this is the same predicament Italy and their team is in right now. The organizational structuring is a mess that it affects everyone. It goes back to 2006ish for them though.
I would dare say if Portugal, not the team but as a football organization, don't watch out then they can absolutely go down the same way as Italy.
 

Daniel

Tani
‎‎‎‎
I’m completely ignorant when it comes to football, but isn’t Ronaldo around 41 now? From what I understand, athletic performance, especially speed, explosiveness, and reaction time, tends to decline more noticeably once players get into their late 30s and early 40s. That said, players with his experience can still make a difference through positioning, decision-making, and sheer competitive instinct.

On the flip side, I’ll back Deutschland to win the whole cup. They usually have the discipline, structure, and tournament mentality to go deep, and if their squad clicks at the right time, that could be enough to carry them all the way.
 
I’m completely ignorant when it comes to football, but isn’t Ronaldo around 41 now? From what I understand, athletic performance, especially speed, explosiveness, and reaction time, tends to decline more noticeably once players get into their late 30s and early 40s. That said, players with his experience can still make a difference through positioning, decision-making, and sheer competitive instinct.

On the flip side, I’ll back Deutschland to win the whole cup. They usually have the discipline, structure, and tournament mentality to go deep, and if their squad clicks at the right time, that could be enough to carry them all the way.
Hit the nail on the head. What Ronaldo shouldn't rely on is his skills that his body cant do anymore but go for experience and wisdom that came with the age. He hates to accept that though it seems. He should lead and direct and leave the play to others.
 
I’m completely ignorant when it comes to football, but isn’t Ronaldo around 41 now? From what I understand, athletic performance, especially speed, explosiveness, and reaction time, tends to decline more noticeably once players get into their late 30s and early 40s. That said, players with his experience can still make a difference through positioning, decision-making, and sheer competitive instinct.

On the flip side, I’ll back Deutschland to win the whole cup. They usually have the discipline, structure, and tournament mentality to go deep, and if their squad clicks at the right time, that could be enough to carry them all the way.
The problem is his rival still plays like a top 10 player despite both being old and playing in weaker leagues
 

Reborn

Throughout Heaven & Earth,I alone am d Honored One
1000 goals? That's not his purpose. His purpose is to be ahead of Messi in atleast one key area to self claim he's the Greatest like he did in the past interviews.

Issue is Messi has 915 goals and I think he's 55 behind Ronaldo. Messi has played 150 matches less than Ronaldo and is also two years younger than him.

Messi is a ticking bomb who might even cross Ronaldo's total goals tally one day and this is what's making Ronaldo push for more goals..
 
The problem is his rival still plays like a top 10 player despite both being old and playing in weaker leagues
Messi just debunked Pele and Fenómeno and soon Klose, he'll become the player with more goals in WC history and Argentina has a legit chance of being champion in a row and there are good chances he win a Ballon D'or this year. Insane
 

Reborn

Throughout Heaven & Earth,I alone am d Honored One
Nah, i don't he wants to be ahead of Messi anymore, he just want to break his own records and soon he'll retire.
He definitely wants to.

His ego is too big to accept. Since WC 2022, he has consistently talked about scoring highest number of goals. He even questioned Pele records and kind of mocked it.

Ronaldo definitely wants to be ahead of Messi in terms of goals. That's all he has left and even this is quite close race considering Messi's form, fitness and age difference
 
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