Football pundit and former player, Shaka Hislop, has noted that Portugal boss Roberto Martinez lacks the presence to drop Cristiano Ronaldo from his starting XI.
This is despite Ronaldo’s standout performance in their 5-1 win against Poland in the UEFA Nations League on Friday.
DAILY POST reports that Ronaldo inspired his national team side to the dominant win.
Portugal netted five goals in 30 minutes with the five-time time Ballon d’Or winner dispatched his penalty in the 72nd minute before scoring a sensational bicycle kick in the 87th minute.
He also assisted Pedro Neto (83′) for Portugal’s fourth goal, earning a match-high rating of 9.4 for his feats (via FotMob).
But this was not enough to impress Hislop, “I don’t think Ronaldo should start for Portugal. I didn’t think since 2022 and you saw it happen during the World Cup where he’s left off and becomes a bit par player.
“Does Roberto Martinez have that presence to say, ‘Cristiano, I’m going with somebody else today?’ I don’t think so.
“Nobody has the presence to tell Ronaldo, listen you need to step away from free kicks, never mind step away from the pitch. And we all see, we all see the numbers with Ronaldo from set pieces, they aren’t great.
“But still, he is the man that for some reason Portugal goes to, even with the presence of far better, certainly statistically takers on the park.
“And while it’s a difficult day to kind of say that, given that Ronaldo scored two and had an assist, at the very least it just against better opposition, I think I’d prefer another option.”
UNL: You must stop Ronaldo – Shaka Hislop tells Roberto Martinez
