After 18 years. Ronaldo finds himself in an unusual situation with Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo set an unusual unwanted record for Portugal. The star forward spent an entire match with the national team on the bench for the first time in 18 years, never making it onto the pitch.
The last time this happened was at the 2008 European Championship. On June 15 that year, Portugal faced Switzerland in the group stage, while Ronaldo watched the game from the bench.
More than 18 years have passed since then, yet during that time the Portuguese star had never remained on the bench for an entire match. Ronaldo became a permanent leader of the national team and, for many years, was almost invariably sent onto the pitch.
That run has now come to an end. In the second-round UEFA Nations League match against Norway, Portugal's head coach decided not to bring the captain on even in the second half. For 41-year-old Ronaldo, this was a highly unusual situation. Nevertheless, the forward remains one of the biggest symbols of the Portuguese national team and its all-time leading scorer.
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
