Portuguese coach: 'Ronaldo played his best'
"Cristiano gave everything to help Portugal win against Slovakia," Roberto Martinez said after the match at Tehelné pole, Bratislava on the evening of September 8. "When Ronaldo received the yellow card, he and I both understood that he would not be able to play in the match against Luxembourg next Monday. That's why Ronaldo played his best for more than 90 minutes, with everything."
Ronaldo received a yellow card after a collision with goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, in the 62nd minute. This is his third yellow card in the first five Euro 2024 qualifying matches, meaning he is suspended and cannot play in the next match. against Luxembourg on September 11. Ronaldo is leading the list of goals scored for Portugal in the qualifying round, with five goals. Before that, he scored two doubles against Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and one goal against Iceland.
According to Martinez, injuries and penalty cards are an unavoidable reality in football. He is considering letting Goncalo Ramos, PSG striker, play instead of Ronaldo in the match against Luxembourg. "Goncalo Ramos trained well last week and now he will play," Martinez added.
In the Slovakia match, Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal in the 43rd minute. Martinez admitted that Portugal was not impressive, especially in the first 15 minutes. However, he was happy with the positive developments from the end of the first half. According to Martinez, the important thing is that Portugal wins three points.
This is Portugal's fifth consecutive win in Euro 2024 qualifying - their best start in qualifying for a major tournament. The previous best achievement was winning the first four matches of Euro 1996 qualifying.
After the first five matches of Group J in Euro 2024 qualifying, Portugal scored 15 goals and did not lose any. Martinez's team is leading the table with 15 absolute points, five points ahead of Slovakia and Luxembourg, while Bosnia is ranked fourth with six points. Iceland only has three points, while bottom team Liechtenstein has no points yet.
"This is a historic achievement," Martinez said. "It is not easy to win international matches. You not only need talented players, but also have to prepare everything. Portugal can do this thanks to the value of commitment, effort and spirit endure. However, we want more than that. We want to improve and develop with matches like this."
Each Euro qualifying group takes the top two teams to the final round taking place in Germany next year. With five points more than the two teams behind and nine points more than the team ranked fourth, Portugal can win a ticket to Germany after the next match or two.
