“It’s not just Cristiano Ronaldo”, “We know this” - Czech captain Tomas Soucek names 3 ‘very good’ players apart from Ronaldo in Portugal camp
Czech Republic captain Tomas Soucek is aware that Cristiano Ronaldo is not Portugal's singular threat, as they have a few more 'good' players on their roster. The two teams clash in their Euro 2024 opener on Tuesday (June 18) in Leipzig.
Ronaldo, 39, is chasing history at the European Championship, looking to make a record-extending sixth appearance and also looking to score in a sixth different edition. He's coming off a strong 2023-24 season with Al-Nassr, striking 44 goals in 45 games across competitions.
However, A Selecao has a star-studded roster with quality in every area of the pitch. Soucek duly acknowledged that, as he named Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao and Bernardo Silva as the other Portugal players to watch out for other than Ronaldo (O Jogo):
“It's not just Cristiano. Fernandes, Leão, Silva, players who are very, very good. Not only when talking about attack, but also about defense. We know this and we are focused on us.”
He added that despite being the underdogs, the Czech Republic would fancy their chances against a Portugal side that went a perfect 10/10 in qualifying but have been more fallible in friendlies post that:
“We know there are always chances in football. Even when you are the 'underdog', the worst team, there are always chances. We are confident. We are not the biggest 'outsider', we want to be competitive and every point counts. We want to reach the knockout stage and so we will have to start well.”
Turkey and Georgia are the other teams in the group.
What are the significant records Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is chasing at Euro 2024?
Cristiano Ronaldo is already the most decorated player in Euro history, having played the most games (25), scored the most goals - both qualifying (41) and finals (14), and won the most games (12).
However, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is also chasing a few more at Euro 2024. As mentioned above - apart from extending his own records for appearing and scoring in most different editions of the competition - Ronaldo is looking to become the highest assist provider. He's one behind Karel Poborsky (eight).
Moreover, the Portugal captain is also looking to become the first player to win multiple Golden Shoe awards at the Euros, having done so three years ago at Euro 2020.