Luis Enrique have commended the depth in Portugal’s national team led by team captain Cristiano Ronaldo, despite calls from Portugal fans to drop the latter from the squad.
Despite a drastic drop in form and poor performance in the 2022/23 football season, Cristiano Ronaldo still has the faith of Spain’s national team coach Luis Enrique.
According to Luis Enrique, the Portugal national team has a depth of quality and can compete at any level. Enrique tipped the squad as a strong contender in the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off on November 26, 2022.
Luis Enrique, 52, who will take the Spain national team to Qatar for the World Cup as one of the tournament’s favorites, said that the Portuguese team is better than his Spanish side as things stand.
“Regarding Spain today, Portugal has better players than Spain,” he said.
“Starting players in the Premier League, La Liga, and other championships. It exports a lot of players, it’s very interesting.
“I hope both teams triumph in the World Cup.”
Luis Enrique’s comments is a bit controversial from the point of view of Portugal fans, who have contended that Cristiano Ronaldo is a minus in the squad and has worn down the quality of the team.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the captain of the Portugal national team, but Portugal fans have been calling on him to be dropped from the squad given his poor form this season.
This is coming after Cristiano Ronaldo had confirmed that he hopes to play till 39 and will be hoping to represent the country in the World Cup and at Euros 2024.
Ronaldo made this known while receiving an award tagged Portugal’s all-time highest goal scorer with 115 goals in 185 caps for the national team.
Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s epic and heroic records with the Portuguese national team, his recent drop in form has been evident. His decision to continue without retiring received both positive and negative remarks.
Since his recent drop in form, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to national team action with a 4-0 UEFA Nations League win over Czech Republic.
The game was a show of Manchester United stars showing their pedigree, but Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from the list. Diego Dalot bagged a brace while Bruno Fernandes scored, but Ronaldo did not score.
He sustained a nose injury which left him with blood oozing out of his nose. He also gave away a penalty to the opponents while trying to protect his injured nose. Evidently, Cristiano Ronaldo was not at his best for the national team.
At Manchester United this season, Cristiano Ronaldo has fallen down the pecking order with just a goal in 9 competitive matches.
Ronaldo will certainly make Portugal national team World Cup squad due to his special status in the team. The performance of Portugal in the upcoming World Cup will determine who is correct between Luis Enrique and Portugal fans.
