Chapter 235
After the club's season ended, Cristiano returned to Portugal and started training without taking a few days off.
The journey to the World Cup in South Africa is still waiting for them.
Cristiano is always happy when he returns to Portugal. The media can always capture photos of Cristiano on the training ground with his big white teeth bared and his eyes narrowed, as if nothing can bother him, even if the situation of this World Cup is not clear at all for Portugal.
This World Cup is the first time that Cristiano and Kaka serve as captains of their respective national teams.
However, compared to the rich foundation of the five-star Brazil, the Portugal team led by Cristiano has not had time to rebuild a lineup comparable to the previous World Cup.
—Not even half the lineup on paper from the last World Cup.
Everyone is waiting to see how Portugal performs. Can the country that surprised everyone by becoming the champion of the last World Cup become a dark horse again in this World Cup in South Africa?
"Portugal stumbled out of the qualifying rounds in the World Cup qualifiers. Everyone witnessed how tenacious this Portuguese team's fighting spirit was! But can this alone really allow Portugal to reproduce the brilliant performance of the last World Cup?"
"Portugal may need more luck! The current Portuguese team does not show any temperament to win the championship. They are like a temporary combination of soldiers and coaches. They may have to realize that victory in the game cannot always rely on a superstar."
"Faced with more emerging global powerhouses, Portugal can only rely on hard battles to win the game."
“…”
When the Portuguese team arrived in South Africa, various predictions about the World Cup appeared in every corner like snowflakes.
Coach Queiroz was worried that this would affect the players' condition, but the situation was much better than he imagined. The players were all doing their training obediently. Cristiano was like the stabilizer of the entire team in the training ground, and everyone subconsciously looked up to him.
In the pre-match interview of the first group match, Queiroz was asked by the media whether Portugal would be full of pressure due to the comments from the outside world, and whether the players' mental state and pressure were fully prepared for the World Cup. He rolled his eyes in his heart - these blood-sucking worms obviously knew everything, but still did it, just because those comments could excite netizens and fans - he said to the microphone:
"When Cristiano showed up at training, it was amazing that all the players focused their attention on the training.
Queiroz looked at the reporters below: "When you have a player like Cristiano, there will be such a chemical reaction in the team, and everyone will start to compete and train in a healthy way."
"We have won the World Cup before, which is the result of the hard work and struggle of all the players. We are very proud of it." Queiroz said, "But at the same time, we also clearly understand that Portugal has never been a traditional strong team. We will still do everything we can to strive to go further in the World Cup journey as we did in the past."
The media in the audience were recording quickly. Cristiano, as the captain of the national team, was sitting next to the coach. He picked up the microphone and said: "I sincerely hope that the fans will continue to support us and trust us. We will, as always, give 100% of our efforts to fight for our country and strive for glory."
The flash lights flashed quickly, and Cristiano and Queiroz left the field under these spotlights.
In the group stage, Portugal was placed in the same group as Brazil, North Korea and Côte d'Ivoire. In the first game against Côte d'Ivoire, neither team scored a goal and the game ended in a draw. The result of this opening game was not so friendly to Portugal, as Brazil next door took the lead and won three points against North Korea.
The second round of the group stage is between Portugal and Brazil. Faced with a pitiful one point in the first round of points, the second round of points match against Brazil seems more urgent.
Cristiano and Kaka stood in the player tunnel. As the captains of the Brazilian and Portuguese teams, the two looked at each other across the narrow tunnel and exchanged a tacit smile.
Cristiano reached out his hand to Kaka, who lightly high-fived him and whispered, "I'll do my best, Cris."
"That's great." Cristiano curled his lips.
Marcelo, who was in the team behind the two men, saw this and shouted, "I think you should hug one another and stop blocking the aisle to chat!"
Cristiano: “…”
Kaka looked back at Marcelo, who shrank his neck and was locked by Pepe from the Portuguese team the next second.
"Pepe will take good care of him," Cristiano said.
Kaka coughed lightly and the tips of his ears began to turn red. Marcelo does need some warnings.
Soon, the entrance music sounded in the stadium.
Cristiano and Kaka looked at each other, the Portuguese grinned, opened his arms and leaned towards Kaka: "Marcelo is right, give me a hug?"
Kaka smiled, he stretched out his hand and took his lover into his arms, then tightened his arms and quickly kissed Cristiano's neck: "See you on the court, Cris."
"See you on the court." Cristiano took a deep breath.
They each held their caddies in their hands and strode out of the player tunnel, with countless media cameras circling around them.
These are the world superstars, the eyes of the whole world are focused on them.
"Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo! This pair of tacit twin stars who fought side by side in Real Madrid are now fighting for their respective countries. When they were teammates, the whole world saw their tacit understanding and saw them lift the trophy together!" The commentator said quickly, "And now that they are opponents, what kind of sparks will they produce?"
Another commentator in the broadcast room said: "In fact, this is not the first time the two have faced each other. They faced each other in the Champions League a few years ago when Ronaldo was at Manchester United and Kaka was still at AC Milan. Then in the last World Cup, Brazil lost to Portugal and was eliminated in the semi-finals."
"And today! Brazil and Portugal meet again in the World Cup as if it were fate, and this time they met each other earlier in the group stage!"
"The game has been going on for fifteen minutes, and both teams are playing quite evenly!"
In less than 20 minutes in the first half, Brazil and Portugal each got two corner kick opportunities, but they were cleared away the next second.
Just as Kaka understands Cristiano, Cristiano also understands Kaka. He knows when Kaka will attack, and he is also aware of Kaka's transmissions that are like flashes of inspiration. They are always in sync.
When they are teammates, this makes them invincible on the court, but when they become opponents, this becomes a small trouble that neither of them can get rid of.
Kaka looked at Cristiano who was approaching him. He knew what Cristiano was going to do. Just when he was about to pass the ball to Marcelo, the Portuguese unexpectedly pushed forward and easily pushed the ball out of bounds, interrupting Brazil's attack.
"Damn it, Cristiano!" After the referee blew the midfield whistle, Marcelo panted and tugged at Cristiano's jersey in frustration. They clearly had several great opportunities to attack, but they were all interrupted by Cristiano's clearances.
This guy is clearly playing as a striker, but he always runs back to the midfield to make trouble for them!
However, when Cristiano retreated to the midfield to resolve Brazil's offensive threat, only Simao and Ruben were left on the Portuguese side's offensive end. Even Cristiano could not always make such a counterattack in a short period of time.
Marcelo put this down to Cristiano knowing them too well.
It's like they know Cristiano too.
The two teams were in a stalemate.
At the beginning of the second half, Portugal seized the ball and launched a rapid attack on the Brazilian goal, catching Brazil off guard.
"Coentrao cleared the ball with his long foot! Cristiano successfully received the long pass! Quickly advance into the Brazilian penalty area!"
"Ronaldo shot the ball from outside the penalty area!! The ball went straight into the dead corner!!!"
"But at the same time, the linesman raised his flag to signal! This goal is offside and invalid!!"
Cristiano stuck out his tongue in frustration, he let out a breath, gave Coentrao and other teammates a thumbs up and applauded. They needed such attacking rhythm and quality, and this was a good example.
Marcelo almost broke out in a cold sweat, but he heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. He was unable to prevent Cristiano from accelerating after receiving the ball. This made him realize very clearly how incredible the Portuguese's explosive power was. The previous confrontations were like playing house and were not worth mentioning.
The long-footed pass is a great test of the tacit understanding and predictive ability of the players, and is very likely to lead to a counterattack after losing the ball. Therefore, Portugal did not frequently kick the ball, but at the same time their breakthrough ability was limited, making it difficult for them to break into the Brazilian defense.
"The game is over! Brazil and Portugal ended up in a tie! Neither Brazil nor Portugal was able to score a goal in the end! Ronaldo scored an offside goal in the 52nd minute..."
The referee blew the whistle and Cristiano stopped running. He breathed slowly and stood there for a while. Soon, Pepe, Coentrao, Quaresma and others came towards him and they hugged each other gently.
After two consecutive draws, the fans in the stands booed loudly. Portugal's qualification for the group stage depended on the last round. Everyone felt the suffocating pressure. As the captain of Portugal's first World Cup, Cristiano's pressure was self-evident.
Cristiano silently hugged Pepe and Quaresma, buried his face in his friends' chests, and whispered: "We will win."
Quaresma patted Cristiano's head, kissed the top of Chris's head, and then responded: "Of course Chris, my boy, I believe in you, we will win."
Cristiano nodded, Pepe patted his neck, and Coentrao whispered to him: "Don't be sad, Cris, we will definitely win the next game."
As soon as Coentrao finished speaking, a voice interrupted: "Do you still want to exchange jerseys, Cris?"
When they looked over, they saw Kaka taking off his jersey and walking over, asking in a low voice.
Seeing this, Pepe looked at Kaka, then at his other two teammates, and gave a look. Quaresma then dragged Coentrao away.
Okay, let's leave Cristiano to Kaka for the time being. At least Kaka is very experienced in comforting Cristiano.
"Why did you pull me away?" Coentrao looked at Quaresma with a frown.
Pepe shrugged his shoulders and said to the little golden retriever who had just joined the national team: "Because they need a little private space. You will understand in the future."
Quaresma snorted. Although he was not satisfied, he guessed that Kaka could indeed make his friend feel better.
Pepe said this, but he didn't expect that this "later" would come so soon.
Coentrao joined Real Madrid the following season and became their club teammate, and Coentrao quickly understood what his national team teammate meant - the two were like conjoined twins.
Although this does not mean that Cristiano will ignore his teammates, Kaka will always squeeze in among them, without any sense of being an outsider as a Brazilian staying in the Portuguese circle.
But at this moment, the golden retriever, who had not been bullied yet, still looked extremely confused.
Cristiano followed Kaka back to the locker room. He gently bumped into Kaka and muttered, "Of course. All your jerseys are mine."
Kaka laughed when he heard that. He rubbed Cristiano's earlobe. He wanted to say more, but his eyes fell on his lover's bulging arm muscles and the blue captain's armband. He suddenly couldn't say anything.
Cristiano has been the captain of Portugal long enough. He knows better than anyone how far this Portuguese team can go. No matter how difficult it is, Cristiano will only work harder to drag this giant ship forward and break through the waves little by little.
Kaka knew that he didn't need to say anything more, his lover was strong enough and didn't need his comfort.
The final round of the group stage will kick off five days later, with Portugal facing North Korea.
This game will determine whether Portugal stays or goes.
Before the game started, all reports related to the South Africa World Cup were mocking the former World Cup champion team for their Waterloo in this South Africa tournament. Even Cristiano Ronaldo, who had repeatedly scored goals and was the top scorer in the club, failed to score in the official World Cup matches.
Facing countless ridicules and pressure, the Portuguese team arrived at the Free State Stadium wearing their home jerseys.
North Korea's overall strength is not strong, but their impact should not be underestimated.
"The North Korean team was clearly pulling in the penalty area! But the referee hasn't blown the whistle yet! Simao's attack was interrupted and the North Korean team launched a quick counterattack!"
The commentator spoke quickly.
Pepe and Coentrao quickly surrounded and attacked, interrupting North Korea's counterattack, and then passed the ball directly to Quaresma.
Quaresma and Cristiano were far apart on both sides of the court, but they exchanged understanding glances and sped up at the same time. After crossing the half court, Quaresma used the outside of his foot to pass the ball in a long arc and came directly to the left side of the court!
"Quaresma's superb reading vision of passing the ball! The sharp talent of top striker Cristiano Ronaldo!! The two completed a beautiful connection!! Cristiano shot directly into the gap in the half court!! North Korea left too much space for this top striker to turn around in the half court!!"
"Ronaldo seized the opportunity! World wave!!!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal from a long distance in the midfield!! He scored the first goal for Portugal in the World Cup!!"
Cristiano's long-range shot seemed to break the goal curse that had been plaguing the Portuguese team.
The entire Free State Stadium was filled with Portuguese fans screaming and singing "Ronaldo", and Portugal finally had a chance of qualifying.
Less than four minutes later, Simao scored the second goal.
In the 54th minute of the second half, Quaresma scored a goal and Thiago immediately scored twice, scoring two goals in a row.
In the last 89 minutes of regular time and injury time, Cristiano scored two more goals, and Portugal achieved a huge victory with a score of 7 to 0!
"That's it! Portugal withstood the pressure and successfully qualified as the second in the group and entered the knockout stage!"
Cristiano lay on the grass, gasping for breath, too tired to even lift a finger.
Every game was a completely different unknown, and he never dared to expect that they could reach the other side smoothly along the same route as in the past.
Quaresma laughed and pulled him up: "What did I say? I knew we could get through it! We have Cristiano!"
Cristiano took a deep breath, he smiled and hugged Quaresma tightly: "No, Ricardo, because we have each other! We are a team!"
His eyes were slightly red, and his hands were tightly around Quaresma's neck. He inevitably recalled some memories, which made him unconsciously a little emotional. He hid his face in his friend's shoulder, not wanting to be captured by the ubiquitous cameras.
Quaresma subconsciously hugged his childhood friend. He didn't know what happened to Cristiano, but he knew that the boy needed him now, just like when they were in Sporting Lisbon, he and Pepe would stand by Cristiano's side to fight against those boys who were much older than them.
Cristiano lowered his head and calmed down. He knew that he could always trust his friends and entrust the game to them. As long as they were together, they could bring victory to Portugal sooner or later.
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