Portugal rolled into this World Cup with a roster that looked like it could beat anyone. João Neves in midfield, Bruno Fernandes pulling strings, Vitinha doing what Vitinha does, Ruben Dias anchoring the back line, Nuno Mendes terrorizing defenders from left back. On paper, it was maybe the deepest squad Portugal has ever brought to a tournament. And that depth, not Cristiano Ronaldo, is why so many picked them as a dark horse to win it all.
But soccer is not played on paper. Through three group stage games, Portugal has looked disjointed. Disconnected. Like a team of solo artists instead of a band. They hammered Uzbekistan 5-0, sure, but that was Uzbekistan, one of the weakest teams in the field. Against Colombia, they got out-possessed and looked frustrated. The chemistry among the forwards is off. Runs aren’t being timed right. Players keep bumping into each other’s space instead of opening up lanes.
Ronaldo has two goals in three games. That is not terrible for most strikers, but it is not what Portugal needed from him. And it is nowhere near Lionel Messi, who already has six goals for Argentina, or Kylian Mbappé, who also has six after putting two past Sweden. Erling Haaland is right there with five. The Golden Boot race is crowded, and Ronaldo is not really in it.
This is the part where people start writing him off. He is 41 years old. He plays in Saudi Arabia now. Maybe he should come off the bench. Maybe Portugal would flow better without him. That argument has been made loudly, and not without some evidence. But there is a reason Ronaldo has 975 career goals, six Ballon d’Ors, and a trophy collection that fits in a museum. He has spent two decades proving people wrong at the exact moment they thought he was done.
The Round of 32 brings Croatia, a battle-tested team that knows how to grind out knockout games. This is exactly the kind of stage where Ronaldo has historically shown up. Not every time, but often enough that you cannot ignore it. Portugal needs to find its rhythm as a unit. The chances are there — 38 shots on target in three games is not nothing. But the finishing has to be sharper, and the movement off the ball has to get smarter. If that clicks, the front three can start punishing teams the way everyone expected.
Roberto Martinez has a puzzle to solve. His team has all the parts. They just have not figured out how to make them fit together while Ronaldo is on the field. But here is the thing about soccer history: it is full of aging legends who found one last burst when it mattered most. Messi is doing it right now for Argentina. Ronaldo has always been the other half of that rivalry, the yin to Messi’s yang. It would be fitting if he found his form again in these knockout rounds.
Portugal might not be France or Argentina right now. But they have Ronaldo, and he has a habit of making people look foolish for counting him out. The first test is Croatia. The stakes are real. And if you think he is just going to fade away quietly, you have not been paying attention for the last 20 years.
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