After a difficult 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic, the Portuguese team needed an explosive performance to regain confidence and inspiration to play football.
“Selecao” was very determined to defeat Turkey with a score of 3-0. At BVB Stadion Dortmund, Ronaldo occupied the “spotlight” with an extremely team situation, passing a cross for Bruno Fernandes to score even though CR7 was behind. position facing the goalkeeper.
Ronaldo is still the most idolized player
REUTERS
On social networks, people are talking loudly that this superstar has changed, plays more as a team, and this is a positive sign to dream of a EURO championship. In addition, the moment he took a photo with a young fan rushing onto the field also spread widely. Ronaldo’s attraction is already great, but is now even greater when EURO 2024 is likely to be his last major tournament in his career when the former Real Madrid striker has turned 39. Every training session, every match, or even Even his every touch of the ball is always noticed.
But don’t forget that Ronaldo is not the oldest player on the Portuguese team . Pepe, who is 41 years old this year, also deserves praise. By appearing in Germany this summer, he will go down in history as the oldest player to participate in a EURO tournament. This record will be very difficult to break.
Important ‘veterans’ in the Portuguese squad
REUTERS
More impressively, Pepe is still the leader of the Portuguese team’s defense, even though coach Roberto Martinez owns young, strong and very classy central defenders like Ruben Neves or Nuno Mendes. And what did Pepe do? He started 2 matches, played almost all of them and was the player with the highest average score for the Portuguese defense team (7.2 points – according to Whoscored).
In particular, the performance against the Turkish team was extremely impressive. He has a 75% accurate tackle rate, 7 clearances (most in the match), 1 interception. He neutralized most of the opponent’s crosses and continuously received cheers from Portuguese fans . “If you are a neutral fan and come to watch Portugal play, you will never believe he is 41 years old,” coach Martinez had kind words for the veteran midfielder.
Final EURO for ‘veterans’: Who has the chance to lift the trophy?
Pepe is still a solid ‘shield’ of the Portuguese team
REUTERS
In the Portuguese team right now, Pepe’s professional mark is even greater than Ronaldo’s. If CR7 is absent, coach Martinez still has many other attacking stars ready to replace him such as Diogo Jota, Goncalo Ramos… But if Pepe is not on the field, who will fill the void of a defensive leader? Ruben Neves is still there, but he doesn’t have enough “authority” to “overpower” opposing strikers like Pepe or command his teammates.
That’s important, but Pepe won’t mind when his excellence is sometimes obscured by Ronaldo’s aura. Because, he once promised: “I will only retire when Ronaldo does the same. As long as he is still in the Portuguese team, I will always be there to support him. He is the best player in Portugal.”
