Roberto Martinez wants Portugal Vs Croatia to be the night Cristiano Ronaldo keeps his World Cup going, not the night it ends. Portugal meet Croatia in the round of 16 with Ronaldo set for his ninth knockout match and his 25th appearance in the tournament.
That is why the match is being searched so heavily today. Ronaldo has never scored in any of his previous eight World Cup knockout matches, but Martinez is still asking for one more chapter, saying, “Espérons que ce ne sera pas la dernière danse de Ronaldo.”
Portugal earned this place by finishing second in Group K after draws against RD Congo and Colombia and a 5-0 win over Ouzbékistan. The run was enough to send them into the last 16, where the question is no longer how they qualified, but whether this is the last time Ronaldo walks out for Portugal at a World Cup.
Martinez built his case around longevity, not nostalgia. He said players such as Ronaldo and Luka Modric “dépassent l’opinion publique,” and that their careers make them special. He added that age is only a number, and that what matters is what they do and the example they set in the dressing room. Ronaldo and Modric both started all three matches so far, and both have carried their teams through the tournament on reputation as much as on output.
The twist is that the same match could end two careers at once. Modric could also be playing his final World Cup match depending on the result, and the two men know each other better than almost anyone in the game after spending the years between 2012 and 2018 together at Real Madrid. Martinez said he believes the team is strong because of unity, talent and commitment, and he said he is confident.
Portugal have also taken something useful into the knockout stage. They are unbeaten in their last three matches, and they have advanced from the first knockout round in each of their last two major tournaments. But the broader history is less forgiving: Portugal have only gone four or more matches unbeaten in a single World Cup campaign twice, in 1966 and 2006.
So the next step is plain. Portugal play Croatia, and the result will decide whether Ronaldo gets another World Cup match or leaves the tournament with the same hard fact that has shadowed him all along: eight knockout games, no goals, and one final chance to change the ending.
