I think I know what a lot of you are thinking right now as you read this.
‘What on earth is Cristiano Ronaldo doing playing in an international friendly at the age of 36?!’
I don’t blame you.
But it is good to see two Manchester United players link-up on international duty as Diogo Dalot was fortunate to find his header in Ronaldo’s path – as seemingly cut through a Qatari defender!
Ronaldo earning another cap tonight won’t come as a surprise to anyone who caught Portugal manager Fernando Santos’ recent press conference when he declared Ronaldo “needs playing time” after United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer benched the forward in the 1-1 draw against Everton.
Footage courtesy of beIN SPORTS:
“He will go to the game because he needs playing time. It’s important to him at this stage,” he said, as per the Mirror.
“The last full game he played was in the Champions League. If he only plays against Luxembourg, he will have practically 15 days without playing with intensity.
Solskjaer’s decision drew criticism from the masses but there will be games this season where the boss will pick Edinson Cavani over the Portuguese superstar (I thought that was part of the package…).
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