Although they began the World Cup as one of the favourites, Portugal have failed to perform as expected — starting with a narrow draw against Congo, then thrashing Uzbekistan 5-0, before drawing again with Colombia in their final group match.
Portugal’s football team has come in for criticism over its lacklustre performance against Colombia. The country’s traditional newspaper A Bola even picked Ronaldo as the worst player on the pitch, rating the team’s main star 4 out of 10 on individual performance.
The report said Ronaldo’s shots were rarely dangerous and that he had failed to convert a big chance after coming face to face with Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, though the move was later ruled out for offside. Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes — the second time in the tournament he had performed below expectations.
He had also been subdued in the opening match, a 1-1 draw with DR Congo. His best performance came against Uzbekistan, where he scored twice. Alongside its criticism of Ronaldo, A Bola named goalkeeper Diogo Costa as Portugal’s best player against Colombia, calling him the man of the match and giving him a rating of 8.
Diogo Costa kept a clean sheet, repelling wave after wave of Colombian attacks. The newspaper said he “stopped everything” and produced an “outstanding performance.” One of his best saves came in the 43rd minute of the second half, when he blocked the ball with his foot before a cross from Juan Quintero could reach Luis Suarez.
Portugal have now drawn two of their group matches. While the result brought some relief, Colombia were the better side throughout and created more chances; Davinson Sanchez scored in added time, but it was ruled out for a marginal offside. In the last 32, Ronaldo’s Portugal will face Croatia.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report