Cristiano Ronaldo Misses Portugal UEFA Nations League Match vs. Croatia: Cristiano Ronaldo was absent when Portugal and Croatia played in a 1-1 tie on Monday, which surefired Croatia’s place in the UEFA Nations League knockout phase. Ronaldo, 39, had played in Portugal’s 5-1 win over Poland on Friday, where he scored twice with a fabulous bicycle kick.
Nevertheless, Portugal could only come up with an awkward formation to clinch a victory in the match against Croatia, with the only goal scored by Joao Felix.
Ronaldo missed the match because the Portuguese national team’s head coach, Roberto Martinez, decided to drop the veteran attacker from the squad ahead of the Croatia clash. In this match, Portugal would have to play for pride against a weaker team since they had qualified for the Nations League quarterfinal.
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The next 2026 FIFA World Cup
Therefore, Martínez decided to keep several cards close to his chest, more often leaving out Ronaldo and other old guarding legs for the new talents in preparation for the next 2026 FIFA World Cup. Before the match, Martinez defended his decision to tinker with the team through rotation, arguing that every game must remain competitive while introducing new talents into the performing line-up.
He further pointed out that besides Ronaldo, other regular players such as Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes (both suspended) were named, as players from the U-21 squad, including Fábio Silva and Geovany Quenda, were also called up for the national team.
Ronaldo also failed to score during the Croatia match; he ended the group stage match with five goals, equal to Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko.
Erling Haaland and his teammates scored the highest number of goals, seven, followed by Razvan Marin, who scored six. Yet, Portugal concluded the match in first place in Group A1 with an aggregate of 14 points, whereas the Croatian team earned a spot in second place with a total of 8 points.
