Will score a pen or two.
Althouse i have a nagging suspicion that he might actually end up having a decent world cup.
Althouse i have a nagging suspicion that he might actually end up having a decent world cup.
Ronaldo’s World Cup number 5. What can we expect? Could he surprise everyone or is he done?
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The team will cater to him so he’ll score a few goals.
The rest of the portugal team have to carry him hard if not crash and burn
Wrong forum. In so many ways…
I'm expecting him to do an interview on how his national team coach disrespected him by getting the team knocked out before the final.
but to be fair to him the guy still score goals when the team plays to accommodate him. Just look at last season with United. So wouldn't be surprised if he has a solid World Cup, and I really hope he does, so some teams come in for him.
but to be fair to him the guy still score goals when the team plays to accommodate him. Just look at last season with United. So wouldn't be surprised if he has a solid World Cup, and I really hope he does, so some teams come in for him.
They are in one of the tougher groups. Definitely not a given that they will make it out of that group, although they of course should be the favorites. But its not by a very wide margin. Hope we see a proper meltdown from them.
He’ll stink the place out and get pelters from all directions now he’s being gash on the world stage. Then he’ll declare the entire world to be haters, take them off his Christmas card list and retire in disgrace.
Already won it in 1994 and 2002 so I think he has his legacy when it comes to WCs
He's been so poor this season for us, no doubt he'll end up tournament top scorer and some folk will be saying "forget about the interview we must keep him" and then if he does stay he returns to his job form
Every Portugal player playing for him, every ball in final third goes to him, 200 shots in total, 35 on target, 0 goals scored, on his way home after third game, only to find out that Portugese people are waiting for him at the airport, with machetes.
Decides to stay in Qatar, and becomes player of one of Qatar clubs, we get £80m for him..
Too much?
Decides to stay in Qatar, and becomes player of one of Qatar clubs, we get £80m for him..
Too much?
He'll score an own goal to send Portugal out of the tournament.
You read it here first.
You read it here first.
Wouldn’t put it past him to have been playing within himself all season, so he can peak for the WC. Could even have been on his mind when he skipped pre-season. Use the club training/matches as a pre-season so he’ll be one of the freshest players at the WC.
My impression of his games for us this season is that he lacks sharpness. Most likely due to a combination of missing pre-season and being 37 (meaning it may be harder to get match fit).
I think there is a chance he will start to score more goals. Even during the WC. But I would not put any money on this.
I think there is a chance he will start to score more goals. Even during the WC. But I would not put any money on this.
Perform like what he did this year for the first match, game ends 0-0.
Gets injured in the 2nd minute for the second game, Portugal subbed him out for Felix and Portugal proceeds to win that game and the next one without him.
Comes back for the knock out game, missed the 5th penalty in the shootout, Portugal gets knocked out, blames the wind. Tells Morgan that the wind disrespected him, mother nature is jealous of him, fangirls and bots agree in unison
Gets injured in the 2nd minute for the second game, Portugal subbed him out for Felix and Portugal proceeds to win that game and the next one without him.
Comes back for the knock out game, missed the 5th penalty in the shootout, Portugal gets knocked out, blames the wind. Tells Morgan that the wind disrespected him, mother nature is jealous of him, fangirls and bots agree in unison
Since this is in the United forum, we should expect absolutely nothing. We should stick with the decision we have made, instead.
How Ronaldo will perform is irrelevant. Different side and tactics, different opponents and different tournament prerequisites (in terms of pace, physicality/aggression, well-drilled tactics and preparation). He may lack the sharpness, but the intelligence is still there. So, in a team where everybody will be trying to feed him and against opposition who usually lacks the cohesion of club football sides (especially early in the tournament), he may score a few goals. Good for him and for Portugal.
But why should we care? United have invested time and resources in a newly appointed manager. ETH may have a use for a player of Ronaldo's vast experience, but he doesn't seem to see Ronaldo as pivotal to his plans. He will alter and tweak his plan to suit the team's overall abilities better, but he will not build a team around a 37yo poacher who would be gone at the end of the season either way.
By entering this debate, we're doing Ronaldo the biggest favour. In the end, that's what the fuss is all about. That the new regime and the new manager refuse to "kneel and kiss the ring". When that time arrived at Real Madrid, they shipped him swiftly to Turin. Just when the situation was about to reach critical mass at Juventus, Ed and the rest of the gang, who had spent three years rebuilding United on nostalgia and sentimentality, were there to play the role of the useful idiot.
Pogba had a wonderful WC with France. He was even racking up good numbers when he was fit with us. This didn't change the fact that it was extremely difficult for United to build a team around him. Good luck to Ronaldo and to Portugal (who have always been one of the most likeable national teams, IMHO), and, hopefully, a club will require his services in January to help them push for their targets. We move on, and get the forward who will fit our new system best and compliment the existing young attacking options well.
How Ronaldo will perform is irrelevant. Different side and tactics, different opponents and different tournament prerequisites (in terms of pace, physicality/aggression, well-drilled tactics and preparation). He may lack the sharpness, but the intelligence is still there. So, in a team where everybody will be trying to feed him and against opposition who usually lacks the cohesion of club football sides (especially early in the tournament), he may score a few goals. Good for him and for Portugal.
But why should we care? United have invested time and resources in a newly appointed manager. ETH may have a use for a player of Ronaldo's vast experience, but he doesn't seem to see Ronaldo as pivotal to his plans. He will alter and tweak his plan to suit the team's overall abilities better, but he will not build a team around a 37yo poacher who would be gone at the end of the season either way.
By entering this debate, we're doing Ronaldo the biggest favour. In the end, that's what the fuss is all about. That the new regime and the new manager refuse to "kneel and kiss the ring". When that time arrived at Real Madrid, they shipped him swiftly to Turin. Just when the situation was about to reach critical mass at Juventus, Ed and the rest of the gang, who had spent three years rebuilding United on nostalgia and sentimentality, were there to play the role of the useful idiot.
Pogba had a wonderful WC with France. He was even racking up good numbers when he was fit with us. This didn't change the fact that it was extremely difficult for United to build a team around him. Good luck to Ronaldo and to Portugal (who have always been one of the most likeable national teams, IMHO), and, hopefully, a club will require his services in January to help them push for their targets. We move on, and get the forward who will fit our new system best and compliment the existing young attacking options well.
He will have one stand out moment, guaranteed
I see all eventualities have been covered in the 2 pages so far to allow a negative interpretation one way or another. 
If he performs poorly, it's proof he's finished. If he has a good tournament, it's either because he was saving himself for it and not taking our games serious or because the team are just pandering to him and feeding him chances.
It's tough to predict which way it'll go. Some will depend on how well the creative players like Bruno and Bernardo perform in terms of creating good chances for the team. The other key part will be whether he looks any match sharper or confident in front of goal.
A big thing might be how well he finishes in any warm up games and the first world cup match. If he scores goals in those, and gets his finishing sharpness back, then he might chip in with a few goals. But he's 37 now, so he's obviously not going to 'set the tournament alight' with dazzling performances. At best, he'll have the kind of Harry Kane / Miroslav Klose type of tournament where he accrues a good amount of goals with penalties, penalty box finishes, etc. Expecting any more than that from any 37 year old striker is unrealistic.
If he performs poorly, it's proof he's finished. If he has a good tournament, it's either because he was saving himself for it and not taking our games serious or because the team are just pandering to him and feeding him chances.
It's tough to predict which way it'll go. Some will depend on how well the creative players like Bruno and Bernardo perform in terms of creating good chances for the team. The other key part will be whether he looks any match sharper or confident in front of goal.
A big thing might be how well he finishes in any warm up games and the first world cup match. If he scores goals in those, and gets his finishing sharpness back, then he might chip in with a few goals. But he's 37 now, so he's obviously not going to 'set the tournament alight' with dazzling performances. At best, he'll have the kind of Harry Kane / Miroslav Klose type of tournament where he accrues a good amount of goals with penalties, penalty box finishes, etc. Expecting any more than that from any 37 year old striker is unrealistic.
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He will have a stinker and cause Portugal to get knocked out, thus saving Bruno and Diogo from unnecessary non-United exertions.
He didn't play in the WC 1994 though.
He's going to score a bunch. Brace yourselves.
Can see him having a failure especially by adding pressure on himself with the whole drama.
I can see Portugal performing badly with players getting frustrated with Ronaldo.
I could see him getting one or two goals in the group. He'll be the non-stop target man, and although he's a shadow of his former self in terms of movement he can still get himself into dangerous positions occasionally and statistically speaking at some point he'll find up finishing some of his chances.
That said, I think Portugal will finish second in the group to Uruguay, and then go out against Brazil in the round of 16. It'll be an unceremonious end to his career for all intents and purposes.
He'll have to sit and writhe in anger as he very possibly watches Messi lead Argentina to World Cup glory and cement his place atop the mountain forever. And I say that as a long-time Messi hater.
That said, I think Portugal will finish second in the group to Uruguay, and then go out against Brazil in the round of 16. It'll be an unceremonious end to his career for all intents and purposes.
He'll have to sit and writhe in anger as he very possibly watches Messi lead Argentina to World Cup glory and cement his place atop the mountain forever. And I say that as a long-time Messi hater.
Hopefully it's where he gets sent off.
He done
Didn't you know he won the W/C at 9. He was the Doogie Howser of world football
I think he may actually be decent.
Firstly because international football tends to be a bit slower (in my mind anyway) as players are not as used to playing with each other and the systems are not rehearsed over months and months of games and training sessions as seen in club football.
Secondly because the levels of opponents and their ability to defend properly are a lot more variable
Thirdly because there is not as much familiarity between opponents. Some defenders he comes up against may have never played against him.
Finally, in United there's an argument whether everyone bows to Ronaldo (and obviously most sane fans have an allergic reaction to that), in Portugal, he's the absolute king - everyone passes to Ronaldo whenever he demands, and everyone accepts it, including the manager. It's been like that for years. Consequently even the system and the players selected are those that would suit Ronaldo.
Firstly because international football tends to be a bit slower (in my mind anyway) as players are not as used to playing with each other and the systems are not rehearsed over months and months of games and training sessions as seen in club football.
Secondly because the levels of opponents and their ability to defend properly are a lot more variable
Thirdly because there is not as much familiarity between opponents. Some defenders he comes up against may have never played against him.
Finally, in United there's an argument whether everyone bows to Ronaldo (and obviously most sane fans have an allergic reaction to that), in Portugal, he's the absolute king - everyone passes to Ronaldo whenever he demands, and everyone accepts it, including the manager. It's been like that for years. Consequently even the system and the players selected are those that would suit Ronaldo.
He’s been utter dogshit all season and managed to score three goals for us. So in terms of stat padding, we might have to endure a siiiuuu or three from the rat. In terms of making Portugal a contender, we won’t need to lose any sleep over that one.
Golden ball winner, Top scorer and World cup winner + Ballon Dor
It's going to be a shitshow as every goal he scores it will come up "he proved United wrong!", "that showed Ten Hag!"... even though no matter how Ronaldo performs, Ten Hag was completely correct in how he managed this, and Ronaldo has still been shite for United this season and should be moved on asap. From what I've seen though he's been holding Portugal back for the past year in a similar way to how he was at United, solving problems he was creating himself, so I don't expect them to feature deep into the tournament for that reason, despite having a talented squad. Santos doesn't have the balls to drop him I imagine.
If he does this it will be all the easier to offload him. There's no chance he stays, it would put the manager in a completely untenable position.
Complete cnut might score some goals... Who cares?
Bro we have 100 Ronaldo threads in November alone.
He’s ronaldo.
There is no way he stays, even if someone takes him just for the clicks. The thing is I do think his poor form is due to all the issues he had and missing pre season. He’s almost had a pre season of a season since he hasn’t played much and I could see the fresh start of Portugal do wonders for him.
only thing is he needs to realize he’s 37 and the fact he’s played 90 minutes this season is insane
Anyone who has seen him this season knows that he isn't good enough to play in a top 5 league anymore. He's going to stink up the world Cup, and it's laughable that he'll start ahead of players who are leagues ahead of him.
Will probably score a few. One hat trick aside he's not been a good WC player.
Two goals. One pen, one from open play. Portugal knocked out in the round of 16
Portugal won the Euro WITHOUT him. If CR got injured early, Portugal might have some luck
Why is this in United forum?
I expect a lot of the ball hitting the wall on free kicks and an early exit, maybe right from the round of 16. He unfortunately still has Portugal by the balls as far as being an automatic starter, and his manager isn't going to stand up to him. This will only affect him. He won't have a Zidane-like final world cup, I'm pretty much certain of that. Best hope Portugal has is that he gets injured early enough that they can't count of him. As a French fan, I've always maintained that if he never got hurt, France would have beaten Portugal in the final in 2016. Once he got hurt, they became far less predictable. We still should have won it, but you didn't know where the danger came from at that point.
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