Qualification is achieved, and the record is in sight. By validating his ticket for the 2026 World Cup, Portugal offered Cristiano Ronaldo the prospect of becoming the first player in history to play in six finals. However, the party has a strange taste for the Portuguese star. Suspended for the match against Armenia, he watched from the stands the demonstration of his teammates (9-1), a collective performance so accomplished that it raises, with new urgency, a question which divides the country: is Portugal better without him?
A regained collective efficiency
The contrast with the defeat against Ireland (2-0) four days earlier is striking. Against the Irish, Ronaldo delivered a lackluster performance before being sent off. Without him, against Armenia, the team was transformed. Liberated offensively, she shot 34 times on goal, carried by a new generation embodied by the hat-tricks of Bruno Fernandes and João Neves. The game, more fluid and less predictable, highlighted a collective strength which sometimes seems restrained by the presence of its icon.
The debate relaunched: should Portugal do without Cristiano Ronaldo?
The weight of a recurring debate
This performance is not an isolated event. In September 2023, already without Ronaldo, Portugal inflicted a historic 9-0 defeat on Luxembourg. Each collective demonstration in its absence fuels the same debate. As local journalist Sofia Oliveira points out, his presence “conditions the other players”who sometimes seek it to the detriment of the best gaming option. The question, asked by the daily In Bolais no longer about whether the team is better without him, but “when is the right time for his absence to become normal.”
Roberto Martinez’s dilemma
This observation places the coach, Roberto Martinez, facing a complex dilemma. On the one hand, the management of a living legend, whose will to play remains intact. On the other, the tactical evidence of a more efficient collective when the game is not systematically oriented towards a single man. If he continues to publicly support his captain, the Spanish technician knows that his choices will be scrutinized in view of the World Cup.
What role for Ronaldo at the World Cup?
Qualification ensures Cristiano Ronaldo his record, but it in no way guarantees his status. The performance against Armenia proved that the next generation, embodied by Gonçalo Ramos and Bruno Fernandes as leader, was ready to take responsibility. The future of the Seleção in North America will perhaps depend on the courage of its coach to redefine the role of its star. Turning her into a luxury asset coming off the bench, rather than a mandatory anchor, could be the key to allowing this talented generation to finally express their full potential.
