Ronaldo and his teammates had a more difficult match than expected against Colombia. Two years ago, Luis Diaz and his teammates played the Copa America final at Miami Stadium (USA). Therefore, they are very familiar with the harsh hot climate in this place. Despite preparing mentally, Portugal faced a very big challenge with the weather, from which the stars could not fully develop their abilities.
Roberto Martinez owns the midfield that is considered the strongest in the 2026 World Cup. Although Joao Neves did not start, his replacement Ruben Neves also had a not-so-bad match. When the final whistle sounded, Vitinha achieved a 100% pass accuracy rate, but Martinez said that Portugal still could not control the match.
The best player on the "European Selecao" side is goalkeeper Diogo Costa. Costa was also voted MVP with at least 7 saves from the opponent's direct shots. Colombia has launched up to 24 shots, the most in their history at the World Cup. Previously in 1994, Colombia had 23 shots in the match against the USA. That was also the fateful day for Andres Escobar with an own goal, causing him to die not long after.
Roberto Martinez still maintains the view that the group stage is just a stepping stone for knock-out matches. The Spanish strategist believes that to reach the final, who the opponent is in the upcoming stage is not too important. Martinez always makes substitutions in the middle of the half in the past 3 group stage matches, only 1 person has played fully, that is Ronaldo.
In the match against Colombia, CR7 was penalized for offside in his signature receiving positions. Regarding defensive pressing, of course the 41-year-old superstar only "participated for show". He did not retreat deep into his own half to support his teammates, only occasionally if the team had to defend a corner kick.
Although there was only 1 undangerous shot in the whole match, when leaving the field, just Ronaldo's handpoke was enough to make a fan burst into tears of emotion. CR7's influence is too great, to the point that Martinez may be afraid of facing negative media if he leaves this superstar on the bench.
It's not that Martinez doesn't have his own reasons for using Ronaldo. The two goals against Uzbekistan don't say much when the Asian representative is too weak. Remember in the Nations League 2025 campaign, CR7 scored against Germany (semi-finals) and Spain (finals), thereby helping Portugal win the championship. When asked by reporters if it was time for Ronaldo to rest, as Messi and Haaland were facilitated, Martinez showed a very decisive attitude.
Such a comparison is very childish and unprofessional. I and my colleagues have followed and known all the stats in the match. Like training sessions, we always have opportunities. Don't forget today Joao Neves and Ruben Neves shared, each playing 45 minutes. The same thing happened in the positions of Joao Cancelo and Diogo Dalot.
The important thing is that the spirit must always be strong, the players must maintain positional discipline, thereby creating space for attacks. Therefore, there is no physical problem for Ronaldo to play the full 90 minutes. We may change in the next match, but the decision will be based on gathering sufficient information.
Goncalo Ramos has been called up but has no chance to play until now. 4 years ago in Qatar, he scored a hat-trick in a match playing instead of Ronaldo (winning Switzerland 6-1). However, during that time, despite playing in a powerful team like PSG, Ramos still did not have a position. He just moved to AC Milan, although it cost higher than when PSG bought him from Benfica, no one dares to be sure that Ramos is qualified enough to shoulder the national team's attack.
If nothing changes, Ronaldo will still play in the match against Croatia. However, as Martinez suggested, he can bring CR7 in later but there cannot be no question of not allowing this superstar to play.
