Any side that boasts Cristiano Ronaldo within its ranks, regardless of how the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is getting on at a club level, needs to be taken seriously on the international stage. Portugal will once again be looking to an all-time great for inspiration when they take to the World Cup stage in Qatar.
There may be suggestions that the powers of a modern-day legend are on the wane, but history dictates that to write Ronaldo off is asking for trouble. In many ways, he likes nothing more than to be backed into the kind of corner that requires him to come out fighting.
Superhuman
O primeiro golo desta #UCL é ???? ?? ????????! ??
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) September 14, 2021
⚽ Cristiano Ronaldo
? Bruno Fernandes#VamosComTudo #TeamPortugal pic.twitter.com/DHNAcTqSXq
He will need to summon up all of his superhuman powers in order to carry the Portuguese close to a first global crown in the Middle East, with FIFA World Cup betting pricing Fernando Santos’ side at +1600 to land football’s biggest prize and complete his medal collection.
With all eyes set to focus on an iconic No.7, others may be freed to sail under the radar. There may be one undoubted superstar within Portugal’s ranks, but he is ably supported by an ever-growing cast of talented sidekicks.
Within that group sits Bruno Fernandes, with Manchester United expected to provide at least three performers in the Portuguese ranks. One of those sits heads and shoulders above the others regarding personal achievements and worldwide acclaim, but opportunities are there to escape the biggest of shadows.
Fernandes will feel that he is capable of doing just that on the most prominent of sporting platforms. The general consensus is that he produces his best at a club level when Ronaldo is not around to steal a share of his limelight.
The talented playmaker delivers more goals and assists when CR7 is missing but needs to find a way of getting that partnership firing on all cylinders ahead of more international duty. If two club colleagues can truly click, then rivals across the planet had better watch out.
Fernandes has never shied away from the fact that, as a leading man at Old Trafford, he needs to take on greater responsibility. He has said: “I think it’s something natural in me. I don’t do anything like say: ‘I want to be a leader or I want to do things in a different way’. It’s the way I am. It’s something that’s in my game.”
Captaincy
P-O-R-T-U-G-A-L ♥️? pic.twitter.com/M0HycW5aej
— Bruno Fernandes (@B_Fernandes8) March 29, 2022
While he may not be sporting the armband in Qatar, those qualities have been displayed on a regular basis for Premier League heavyweights, with Fernandes perfecting the art of dragging others along with him.
There was a time when that particular task rested solely on the broad shoulders of Ronaldo, with teammates merely carried along for the ride. Still, others have shown that they can step up to the plate and that should serve to benefit everyone in the long run as Portugal become much more than a one-man band.
