Julius Okorie
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has said Cristiano Ronaldo is fit enough to repeatedly play full 90-minute matches even as Portugal square up against Turkey today.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHe praised the experience and athleticism of the Al Nassr of Saudi forward which he insists makes him unique.
Ronaldo, 39, played the entire match in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Czechia in their Euro 2024 opener but did not score.
Asked ahead of today’s game against Turkey if it makes sense to play Ronaldo for 90 minutes, Martinez told a news conference: “Do you know how many minutes Cristiano played last season? He has experience; there was no other player in the history of football with six European Championships played.
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“It is important to understand what a player brings. Cristiano brings experience, brings goal opportunities, a way of opening up spaces. Cristiano is in the national team because he deserves to be here, just look at what he has done and what he has done in the last competitions.”
Ronaldo scored a Saudi Pro League record 35 goals for Al Nassr in his first full campaign at the club and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 130 goals.
Turkey and Portugal top Group F after winning their opening matches Georgia and Czechia respectively. Fans are yet to see Ronaldo’s trade mark celebration of goals in this tournament and may be hoping he scores today against Turkey at the BVB Stadion Dortmund.
In other matches today, Georgia face Czechia, while Belgium lock horns with Romania.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
