"Union, focus and commitment" - Cristiano Ronaldo sends message ahead of Portugal's Euro 2024 clash with Turkey
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is fully committed on the task at hand ahead of the team's second Euro 2024 game against Turkey in Dortmund on Saturday (June 22). A Selecao opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in their campaign opener.
Roberto Martinez's side were rocked by a Lukas Provod 62nd-minute strike before an own goal by Robin Hranac seven minutes later restored parity for the 2016 champions.
Just when it seemed that a share of the spoils would ensue, Francisco Conceicao bagged the winner in the second minute of stoppage time to make it 11 straight competitive wins for A Selecao.
Ahead of their clash with Turkey at the weekend, Ronaldo tweeted three simple words for his team (as translated from Portuguese)
"Union, focus and commitment."
The 39-year-old is once again expected to start and lead his team's line up front after failing to score against the Czech Republic despite having a few presentable openings.
Ronaldo, though, did dish out a passing masterclass, sending key balls into the opposition box and creating big chances for his teammates.
Euro 2024: Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo looking to create more history
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo holds a slew of records at the European Championship. He's the competition's all-time appearance maker (26) and scorer - both in qualifying (41) and finals (14). He's also the only player in Euro history to score at least thrice in three editions (2012-3, 2016-3, 2020-5).
Despite not scoring in his team's Euro 2024 opener, Ronaldo made a record-extending sixth European Championship appearance. His teammate Pepe and Croatia's Luka Modric are playing their fifth edition at Euro 2024.
If he scores, Cristiano Ronaldo will become the oldest Euro finals scorer, while an assist will take him level with record holder Karol Poborsky (eight). More milestones - oldest player to appear and score in the final - await him if the Al-Nassr forward can lead his team to the final.