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Superstar Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo thanked fans for "making the team feel at home" ahead of their FIFA World Cup round of 32 clash against Croatia scheduled for Friday.
The star-studded Portugal will be fighting for a pre-quarterfinal spot against a solid, all-round consistent Croatia, led by 40-year old Luka Modric. After two draws in their group stage clash, Cristiano and Portugal will be aiming to stamp their authority over a quality opponent in Toronto, with the match taking place at 4:30 AM IST. The match will also have a lot of emotional significance for Portugal players and fans alike, as it will coincide with the first death anniversary of late striker Diogo Jota, who passed away in a road accident in Spain last year. Posting on Instagram ahead of the match, Cristiano, with a holding hands emoji and Portugal flag, posted with the caption, "Facam-nos sentir em casa", roughly translating to "make us feel at home". https://www.instagram.com/p/DaRV9PJCIQ5/?img_index=1 During the match against Colombia, the 41-year-old Portugal captain made his 25th FIFA World Cup appearance, drawing level with Germany great Lothar Matthaus for the second-most appearances in the tournament's history. Only Argentina captain Lionel Messi, with 29 appearances, has featured in more World Cup matches than Ronaldo. During the match against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo led Portugal's charge with two goals, while Nuno Mendes and Rafael Leao also found the net. An own goal involving Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov further compounded the misery for Fabio Cannavaro's side as Roberto Martinez's men secured their first win of the tournament in emphatic fashion. Ronaldo's brace saw him become Portugal's all-time leading scorer in FIFA World Cup history, taking his tally to 10 goals, surpassing Eusebio's record of nine. Eusebio, a Portuguese legend and 1965 Ballon d'Or winner, famously guided the team to third place at the 1966 World Cup. Behind Ronaldo and Eusebio, Pauleta is third on Portugal's World Cup scoring list with four goals. Ronaldo also became the first player to score in six different FIFA World Cup tournaments, ending his 10-match goalless streak across major competitions (the FIFA World Cup and the Euro Championship). Portugal's result came as a strong response after they were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their opening group-stage encounter in a performance that put Ronaldo's team under scrutiny. The victory helped Portugal get their World Cup campaign back on track and significantly boosted their goal difference ahead of the final group fixture. (ANI)
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