Portugal coach Roberto Martinez defended his team from what he described as “unfair and unjust” criticism after the squad, most notably superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, laboured in a poor opening to their World Cup campaign.
Portugal are one of the major contenders to win this summer’s tournament but were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in Houston last week.
Joao Neves put them in front in the first six minutes but Yoane Wissa equalised for Congo late in the first half and Portugal failed to make their dominance of the ball count.
Martinez was criticised for not withdrawing Ronaldo, who looked out of ideas, firing wide twice in the second half and only having 25 touches over the course of the game.
Martinez said on Monday: “We are playing a World Cup so of course we have a lot of noise and tension, but it’s part of the game.
“The focus is on the team and we want to show a positive attitude … to be ready for the match. We are very much focused. We are strong. The team is even more united than before.”
He did not specifically refer to Ronaldo but said that some of the criticism is “unfair, it’s unjust.”
However he declined to say if the 41-year-old would start Tuesday’s match against Uzbekistan after his forgettable performance in the opener.
He said: “I can’t inform you about the starting 11 because I haven’t informed my players,” when asked if Ronaldo would remain in the lineup.
Ronaldo did not speak to reporters after the game but has posted twice social media since the draw. In the first post, he wrote: “It wasn’t the start we wanted, but this is far from over. Head up and focus on the next game.”
On Sunday, he posted four pictures from a team training session and wrote: “Focused on the mission.”
Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi became the only men to play in six World Cups with their participation this year. Ronaldo will try again on Tuesday to become the first player to score in six World Cups after falling short in the opener.
He currently shares the record with Messi, who has five goals in Argentina’s two matches this year to give him a record 18 goals across five tournaments. Messi failed to score in 2010.
Despite Ronaldo’s struggles in the opener Martinez remains confident in his ability to help the team finish opportunities in the final third.
“Cristiano is the best one to do that,” he said. “The numbers support this of this iconic player who is Cristiano Ronaldo. If you look at the past 32 games, he is the player that has extra movement opening spaces and finding pockets.”
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