First, it is not easy to break the tradition. Looking back at the champions in the past 30 years, Brazil 2 times, Germany 2 times, France 2 times, Spain 1 times, Italy 1 times, these are all powerful countries that have dominated the international football world for decades. Years of deep football accumulation and peak player combinations require some luck to win a championship. Portugal has condoned a number one player in international football like Ronaldo, but overall, the accumulation is still not enough! If Figo had been back then, the peak period of the golden generation of Costa plus Ronaldo four years ago, maybe there would be a little possibility, but with the current lineup, winning the championship can only be said to be an impossible task.
Secondly, Ronaldo is successful and Ronaldo is defeated. In fact, Portugal is in a very similar situation to Argentina. They all have an absolute superstar in the team. If the superstar performs well, the team will be good. Once the superstar has some problems, the entire team will be affected. And in terms of ability, Ronaldo has declined compared to before, regardless of speed, agility and other indexes, which is a natural law. Although he scored a goal, Ronaldo could no longer bear Portugal's struggle with all his strength. On the other hand, indulging Ronaldo's ability is amazing, but football is a collective event after all, and any shortcomings in the lineup will determine the outcome of the game. Instead, there has never been any superstar in history that has achieved success by relying solely on ability and not on system support. Looking at these champions, there are not necessarily super giants in the team, but there are core points on all four lines. Moreover, a superstar with a decline in ability but a huge influence will also have an impact on the head coach's tactical arrangement. Actually, I have said that with Ronaldo's current situation, it is best to retreat and no longer aim for goals, but to focus on organizing and have the opportunity to shoot forward. Unfortunately, the president is obsessed with data. He had to divide each goal last night with you and me. No matter whether the goal was scored by himself or not, weren’t it all scored by Portugal? If you are more generous, what if you admit that it was the little brother who entered? Now that I’m making a handicap scene, I can’t help but feel no grudges in my heart?
Third, the absolute strength of the Portuguese lineup is far from the championship standard. I won’t talk about the main players, but under the five-man rotation of this World Cup, the requirements for a team’s substitute lineup are very high. As the game progresses, due to players' injuries, suspensions, luck, etc., it is becoming increasingly difficult for the coach to play cards in his hands, and Portugal's substitute lineup is definitely not satisfactory. Leo, a sharp tool on the wing, was disappointing. Not only did he not have speed and breakthrough, he had no basic desire to win. He was lazy and staggered. This is a personal problem, but it can also be regarded as a team style problem.
Portugal has won both games now, and it is smooth sailing, but in the quarterfinals, the game after the quarterfinals is the real test. If you are lucky, the rankings within the semi-finals of Portugal will be more reasonable, but the championship is indeed not a good chance!
