Chapter 165 Ronaldo’s inner demons

Chapter 165 Ronaldo’s inner demons

This is indeed just a warm-up match, the purpose is to train troops. In addition to enhancing the tacit understanding between the main players of the team, it is also very important to allow more players to be trained.

After Bruno scored twice, helping Portugal expand its lead to two goals, Santos quickly made personnel adjustments. Bruno and Ronaldo, the two major goal scorers, were both replaced. The original Portuguese playmaker came on the bench. Moutinho, and substitute striker Eder.

Not only that, Nani, Thiago and Alves were also replaced, and Ricardo Carvalho, William Carvalho and Quaresma got the chance to come on as substitutes.

Santos is completely inspecting the players!

After Bruno left the field, Portugal's control declined, and the French team also regained a victory when the game entered stoppage time.

In the 89th minute, Evra broke through the inverted triangle from the left and passed back. Benzema calmly stopped the ball from the edge of the penalty area and knocked it across. Pogba succeeded in pushing the ball with his right foot into the lower right corner of the goal, rewriting the score to 2:3.

But Pogba himself didn't feel any happiness about this goal. On the one hand, this goal came too late and had no effect on changing the outcome of the game. On the other hand, the person he cares about most is no longer on the court. What does it mean to score in this case?

So, instead of celebrating or running into the net to grab the ball, he just turned around and walked toward midfield.

In the end, the game was fixed at 2:3. Portugal defeated the French team at the Stade de France, ending their embarrassing record of 39 years without defeating the French team.

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At the post-match press conference, Santos also said in an interview with the media: "This is a game worth remembering!"

"I am very satisfied with the performance of the players. They played very well, trained very hard, and played very devotedly. In order to win this game, each of us paid a lot, and everyone knows that playing against the French team is always difficult. It was not easy, especially at the Stade de France, but we did a great job on the counterattack."

"I'm very happy to see Bruno who can do everything. He is a player that I can't find any fault with. He always trains the hardest and plays the hardest. His performance tonight was great. , all three goals were related to him."

"I think he still has a lot of potential that can be tapped. He's only 20 years old."

Santos believes that the team's victory over France is key to boosting confidence and is meaningful for the next European Cup qualifiers, but he does not believe that the team has a guaranteed victory and the right to advance.

While Santos was in a good mood, Deschamps felt very sorry for the loss.

The French coach believed that the reason for the loss was that after taking the lead, the team played it safe and lacked passion for the game.

"We unknowingly slowed down the offense on the offensive end, and it cost us a lot."

"There is no doubt that Bruno is the key to this game. He is the best player in the game. We did not find a good way to restrain him, which caused us to suffer a painful blow."

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While Portugal and France were fighting fiercely at the Stade de France, the second round of the European Cup qualifying group stage was also underway. In the two games in Group I, Armenia drew with Serbia 1:1 at home, which was considered a minor upset.

However, another group match was the real upset. Albania, the weakest member of the group, beat Denmark 2:1 at home!

As a result, after two rounds of group matches, Portugal, Denmark and Albania all scored 3 points, while Serbia and Armenia scored 1 point.Portugal continues to rank first with a goal difference advantage, Denmark ranks second, Albania ranks third, Serbia ranks fourth, and Armenia ranks bottom.

When Portugal went north to Denmark to prepare for the third round of the group stage, news came from Serbia that the match between Albania and Serbia was canceled due to fan riots, and Serbia was sentenced to death and ended with 3 without a fight. The score of :0 was ruled a loss!

For a time, the situation in Group I was in chaos. Albania, a weak group, actually topped the group with 6 points. Although their first place position may not be secure, their situation of qualifying for the group suddenly became clear.

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At 10:14 on the evening of October 20th Central European Time, a focus match in Group I of the European Cup qualifiers started at the Copenhagen Park Stadium.

Although Ronaldo's knee suffered some injuries during pre-match training, the Portuguese captain still insisted on playing.

This is related to a grudge between Ronaldo and Danish fans.

During the 2012 European Cup group match between Portugal and Denmark, the Danish fans shouted Messi's name to stimulate Ronaldo, causing the impetuous Portuguese captain to waste two single-handed goals in the game. Although Portugal finally narrowly defeated Denmark with a score of 3:2, it was very difficult to win.

After the game, Ronaldo was quite dissatisfied, but he refused to admit defeat. In an interview with reporters, he said: "Call Messi at me? Wasn't Messi's Argentina eliminated in the Copa America this time last year? And? Still on your own doorstep! That's worse, isn't it? Calling me Messi? It doesn't make any difference!"

But Ronaldo always remembers that experience.Now the two teams meet again, and Ronaldo is very eager to defeat Denmark with an outstanding performance and wash away the original shame.

However, the Five Shields team encountered stubborn resistance from the home team at Copenhagen Park Stadium.

<divclass="contentadv">Although Portugal, under Bruno's organization, launched a flood of attacks on the Danish team's goal, the Portuguese striker trident composed of Ronaldo, Danny and Nani was unable to do so. take the chance.

Among them, Danny and Nani are not very good at seizing opportunities, and their scoring rate is very low.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, was affected by a knee injury and was in poor condition.

In addition, he was once again targeted by Danish fans. When he didn't pick up the ball, the Copenhagen Park stadium would shout "Messi! Messi!", making Ronaldo become impetuous.

Especially in the 50th minute of the game, Ronaldo once again wasted an excellent scoring opportunity. Danny stole the ball in the frontcourt and passed the ball to Ronaldo on the left. Ronaldo's push was missed by Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel. Save the bottom line.

At that moment, tens of thousands of Danish fans in the stands shouted "Messi" in unison again, making the Portuguese captain's face darken.

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Although the score has not changed, Portugal's advantage on the field is very obvious.

Under Portugal's powerful offensive, Denmark's defense had a shocking moment in the 54th minute. When Liverpool central defender Agger made a big-footed clearance in the penalty area, the ball hit teammate Boilesen in the face. Boilesen immediately fainted and fell to the ground. But he regained consciousness after being treated by the team doctor and was immediately replaced by Paulson.

After the game restarted, taking advantage of the psychological fluctuations of the Danish players, Bruno suddenly stepped forward and knocked the goal guarded by Schmeichel with a long shot.

1:0, Portugal took the lead in the away game.

Bruno's goal also relieved the psychological burden on the Portuguese players, especially Ronaldo, who also regained his composure.

Having regained his composure, Ronaldo resumed his threat and soon completed a beautiful header.

In the 75th minute, Bruno scored the ball in the midfield, and Joao Mario, who came on the bench, made a pass from the right. Ronaldo jumped high in the penalty area and scored with a header, extending Portugal's lead to 2 goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo ran wildly, roared to vent his anger, and knelt down to celebrate.

Facing the Portuguese who were celebrating wantonly, the huge Copenhagen Park stadium seemed to have been slapped in the face, and there was a dead silence for a while.

Although they immediately responded with more harsh boos, this had no impact on the Portuguese at all and only made them happier.

Especially Cristiano Ronaldo, who made a provocative gesture with his hands pointing down at the Danish fans. But he was pulled away by Bruno immediately, otherwise it would be terrible if he was shown a yellow card by the referee.

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In the end, Portugal relied on Bruno's long-range shot and Ronaldo's iconic violent header to defeat their strong rival Denmark 2:0 in the away game.

This victory not only allowed Portugal to regain first place in the group, but also greatly helped the promotion situation of the entire qualifying round.

After all, with Serbia in a downturn, Denmark has become Portugal's biggest opponent on the way to promotion. Now that they defeated Denmark on the road, they basically killed Denmark's threat to Portugal.

As long as Portugal doesn't commit suicide, they will basically lock in the first place in the group.

For Ronaldo, this is his 2014th goal in 44 games with the national team and club in 45, including 41 goals with Real Madrid and 4 goals with the national team.Messi scored 2014 goals in 51 games in 41. In comparison, Ronaldo played fewer games and scored more goals.The Spanish media is once again creating momentum: Who is more deserving of the 2014 Ballon d'Or than Cristiano Ronaldo?

However, the Italian media stepped forward to steal the limelight at this time. "Gazzetta dello Sport" stated that Bruno was the best player in 2014!

According to statistics, Bruno played 2014 games on behalf of Udinese and the Portuguese national team in 45, scoring 30 goals and providing 35 assists. Although he is not as good as Ronaldo and Messi in terms of goals, but with assists, no one can compare with Bruno.

Of course, not many people paid attention to what Gazzetta dello Sport said. Bruno's performance is indeed outstanding, but it is impossible to compete with Ronaldo and Messi for the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

However, there is a high demand for Bruno to be shortlisted for the 2014-man squad for the 23 FIFA Ballon d'Or to be announced soon, and the odds of Bruno being shortlisted by major European betting companies are also very low.

For a young player who has just celebrated his 20th birthday, it is very rare to be included in this list.