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Ahead of their second FIFA World Cup clash against Uzbekistan, the Portugal team has shut out all the noise surrounding the team and particularly the 41-year-old legend Cristiano Ronaldo after a disappointing 1-1 draw with DR Congo, saying that "criticism is not significant" and their most beloved player is "used to dealing with media".
Cristiano-led Portugal played out an underwhelming 1-1 draw against DR Congo in their FIFA WC opener, despite scoring early and dominating the vast majority of ball possession. Cristiano, making his record sixth World Cup appearance, looked pretty underwhelming as his goal drought at major tournaments extended to 10 matches, dating back to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Speaking ahead of the game, Portugal star Ruben Dias said, as quoted by Reuters, "The criticism is not significant for us, it's noise and part of the competition ... It is all noise." "It always happens if you have a match that does not go well. We are closing ourselves off from unnecessary criticism," he added. Cristiano was met with immense criticism from former Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry, who suggested that the superstar striker was chasing personal glory rather than looking for team success. "One thing that's important: the team needs to score, not you need to score," Henry had said in his analysis on Fox, feeling that Ronaldo was getting in the way of teammates to score his own goals. However, Dias refuses to single out Cristiano, saying that the footballer is used to media criticism and in these types of tournaments, things would not be perfect. "Cristiano, of course, is used to dealing with the media pressure we usually face in the club, the national team, world tournaments, European competitions," Dias said. "In this sort of competition, it will never be perfect ... This is a competition you can win only if you play well game after game," he added. Dias, who missed the FIFA World Cup opener as he had not recovered fully from his injury, declared himself ready for the Uzbekistan clash. Having faced Congo's defensive back-five, Portugal could see similar tactics used by Uzbekistan. Ruben said that he noticed this tactic repeatedly while playing for Manchester City in the Premier League. "I come from playing most of my club matches against teams that use a back five, so I have a very clear idea about it," Dias said. "Respecting positional discipline becomes decisive in matches like these." "I believe we have players with enough quality that, by respecting our positions and making the right decisions, we can make the difference," he signed off. (ANI)
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