Need for clarification after act of frustration: crisis meeting because of Cristiano Ronaldo?
After his act of frustration against Norway, Cristiano Ronaldo is dominating the headlines in Portugal. The federation want to put the events behind them quickly.
Portuguese newspaper A Bola reports that a crisis meeting between Ronaldo, national coach Jorge Jesus and federation president Pedro Proenca is taking place today, Wednesday, to clear up the tense situation.
There had already reportedly been talks between the forward and Jesus beforehand. According to the newspaper, they went well and left a positive impression on both sides. It is now hoped the internal "tensions" have been resolved. Record also reports an agreement between player and coach.
Ronaldo was surprisingly left unused in the recent Nations League match against Norway (2-1) and spent the entire game on the bench. That evidently caused considerable frustration for the Al-Nassr superstar. Once the match ended, he did not join the team in going over to the travelling fans and instead disappeared alone down the tunnel.
The last time Ronaldo went unused in a competitive match for the Selecao, despite theoretically being available, was at Euro 2008 in a 2-0 group-stage defeat against Switzerland. Since then, as long as he was in the squad, he had always played at least one minute.
"My plan was to use him in the second half, but the course of the game dictated otherwise. It made no sense to bring on a striker with his qualities," Jesus explained regarding Ronaldo's omission.
Did Cristiano Ronaldo also miss training with Portugal?
A Bola also reported that Ronaldo did not take part in Portugal's subsequent training session ahead of the upcoming game against Denmark. The federation apparently explained it by saying the 41-year-old did not have sufficient equipment, which he would have needed for the session.
Ronaldo can therefore be expected to feature in the upcoming clash with the Danes (Thursday, 8.45pm). After six points from two games, Portugal currently sit top of Group 4 even without the help of their superstar. Beat the Scandinavians and the Selecao will complete a flawless "first half" of the campaign.
