Portugal head
coach Fernando Santos has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as a source of inspiration
for the young stars in his squad.
Ronaldo is set
to make his return to the Portugal squad for the first time since the Euro 2016
against Andorra.
The Real
Madrid man was brought off in the first half of the 1-0 win over France in the
Euro final, but returned to the dugout to spur his teammates on.
Santos,
however, says his captain’s successes at club level – which include three
Champions League titles – are a true source of motivation for the rising stars
at his disposal.
“When you have
the best player in the world, what do you think will happen? Cristiano is
Cristiano,” he said. “Of course, he always wants to be present in the national
team and has a lot of value. It’s not only the quality he has, but he means a
lot to the younger ones.
“He is a
player who has many titles, and always want to win more and more, and this is
very important in this team, which has many players who are taking their first
steps.
“Many of them have
won a very important trophy, but do not have so many titles in their careers.
And you know how important a player is who has titles, because it gives them
strength. And as I said, the presence of Cristiano has a lot of value for the
team.”
Portugal suffered
a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in their opening qualifying match, but Santos has
no concerns that the European champions will not be involved at Russia 2018.
“I am sure
that Portugal will be at the world championship,” he said. “It’s a team of
great quality. They know very well what they have to do and I have great
confidence in them.
“The World Cup
is something that I’ve never had with Portugal. It’s the first time. It’s
natural that the players have an ambitious outlook, it is natural that they
want to be in this championship.”
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