Sunil Chhetri makes bold prediction ‘amidst all the controversy’ around Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal line-up as they face Turkey at Euro 2024
Former Indian football star Sunil Chhetri predicts that Cristiano Ronaldo will score in Portugal's Group F clash against Turkey in Euro 2024 on Saturday, June 22. The two sides face off at Signal Iduna Park in Germany.
Chhetri made a "cliche" but bold prediction about Cristiano Ronaldo on Football Extraaa on Sony Sports Network. He anticipates that the veteran will step up for his country and score his first goal in the Euro 2024.
“Ronaldo will score, Portugal win [is my prediction]. Very cliche, but I’m backing him to score. Amidst all the controversy, [I feel] the best player in the world will score,” Chhetri said.
As expected, Ronaldo featured in the Selecao's starting line-up in their second group-stage match in the tournament against Turkey. He didn't score in Portugal's opening match in Euro 2024 although they got a close 2-1 win over the Czech Republic. It came courtesy of a stoppage-time (90+2') goal by Francisco Conceição.
Martinez's men must focus on bagging three points against the Turks tonight to be able to proceed to the knockout stage.
Roberto Martinez backs Cristiano Ronaldo to bring the much-needed experience for Portugal in Euro 2024
It appears that Sunil Chhetri is not the only one to have faith in Cristiano Ronaldo and what he can bring to the table. Selecao coach Roberto Martinez fiercely backed his starting striker while speaking to the media ahead of Portugal's clash against Turkey on Saturday.
“What is important to understand is what a player brings. For us, Cristiano brings experience, know-how, goalscoring opportunities, that movement in the box, the opportunity to open space. If you want to analyze his stats in terms of the physical, all you need to do is look at what he has done in the last 12 months,” Martinez saidv(via Republic World).
The coach further stressed that Cristiano Ronaldo features in the Portugal national team because he deserves to be. He highlighted the player's incredible statistics in the last season for Al-Nassr. The 39-year-old registered 44 goals and 13 assists in 45 games across competitions for the Saudi Arabian side.
Martinez sounded confident about his decision to give Ronaldo the minutes in the future Euro 2024 matches, saying:
“Cristiano is in the national team of Portugal because he deserves to be. Cristiano has scored 51 goals in 50 games (last season). All the physical stats just back up that he can play every four days."
Martinez described Ronaldo as a "poacher in the box" who can open spaces for other players as well, making it clear that he's important for the team.