Ronaldo looks to inflate tally as Portugal take on Morocco
21/06/2018
MOSCOW: A video clip showing the other side of Cristiano Ronaldo has gone viral. In the clip, a young fan standing with his mother by the team bus, is crying as the team is about to depart for the World Cup. Ronaldo steps off the bus, hugs the little one, signs an autograph and poses for a photo. He’s just made the young fan’s day, week and month.
Never letting go of an opportunity to strike a chord - that defines the Portugal captain, against Morocco on Wednesday, in his current goal-scoring form, his status can only go north.
The African Lions, back among the world’s elite after a 20-year absence, made an unfortunate start to this World Cup. Morocco dominated Iran, but Aziz Bouhaddouz’s 95th minute, self-inflicted goal sunk them 1-0 in Friday’s Group B encounter in Saint Petersburg.
The teams from Africa do not have anything to show for as the World Cup 2018 enters its second week. Wednesday’s face-off at the Luzhniki comes with interesting sidelights though. The last time the two teams met was in 1986 World Cup where Abdelrazze Khairi’s two goals helped Morocco to a 3-1 victory.
It might spur the lions to roar but on the other hand, Portugal too have some piece of history to fall back upon. The last time Portugal scored three goals in their opening World Cup match, as they did against Spain in Sochi on Friday, eventually saw them finish third in their best-ever performance in the tournament – in 1966.
But Ronaldo is on a history-making spree rather than repeating one. His free-kick that denied Spain a victory gave the world a moment of pure joy. Morocco’s Mehdi Benatia has an unenviable job at hand. The Juventus defender has to try and keep the Portuguese captain in check; any foul around the penalty area can spell trouble. Young full-back Achraf Hakimi will be there to lend a helping hand.
An early pace-setter in the race for the golden boot with the hattrick against Spain, Ronaldo will look to inflate his tally as long as Portugal can stay in the mix.
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