The Portuguese marksman was back amongst the goals for Roberto Martinez’s men as they had little problem overcoming Ireland.
After being rested for Portugal’s two previous pre Euro 2024 friendly games (a 4-2 win over Finland and 1-2 loss to Croatia), Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the famous red jersey as A Seleção das Quinas had little trouble in brushing aside a poor Republic of Ireland side in Aveiro with Ronaldo bagging two goals as part of a 3-0 win.
After being used sparingly by former boss Fernando Santos, new manager Roberto Martinez has the utmost faith in the veteran striker and will look for Ronaldo’s goals in helping cement Portugal’s billing as one of the key outsiders as the talented Portuguese side look to challenge top tournament favourites France and England and bag a second European Championship title after their 2016 triumph.
The German tournament will also possibly present itself as the last time we get to see the 39-year-old Madeira native on a major stage but despite his age and an inevitable change in the way he plays the game, the striker has lost nothing of his desire to compete and despite a disappointing campaign with Al Nassr in failing to bag silverware, Cristiano was still the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League with 35 goals.
Speaking to UEFA TV on the eve of the tournament, Ronaldo stated: “there is always room for improvement even though I am a complete player, but with my age, it’s important to be able to adapt, that for me is they keyword if a player wants to have longevity. Playing constantly at a top level is hard and dedication and hard work are essential”.
Ronaldo at Euro 2024
Cristiano will be the second oldest player at Euro 2024 at the age of 39 and four months and trails compatriot Pepe who is now 41 (and three months).
Ronaldo holds the record for the most European Championship games (25), and is the only player to have participated in five editions of the tournament with his appearance in Germany set to be his sixth.
The current Al Nassr striker holds the record for most goals in the UEFA European Championship (14), its qualification stage (40) and remains UEFA Champions League top scorer with 140 goals.
He has also bagged the highest number of international goals (130), and made a record amount of national team appearances (207) bagging a record 895 senior career goals for club and country.
Ronaldo will also be looking to emulate Portugal’s 2016 heroics when they overcame host nation and highly fancied France with a 1-0 win in the Paris final sparking scenes of jubilation across the Iberian nation.
