In the 3-0 victory against Bosnia, Bruno Fernandes continued to shine with 2 goals and 1 assist, while Cristiano Ronaldo had a lackluster performance throughout the entire 90 minutes. If he continues to play like this, CR7 will no longer have the patience of the new manager, Roberto Martinez.
The Portuguese national team maintained a 100% winning record in the EURO 2024 qualifiers after their 3-0 victory over Bosnia, courtesy of Bruno Fernandes' brace and a goal from Bernardo Silva.
In this match, Ronaldo made his 199th appearance for the national team. He still wore the captain's armband and started the game. However, the 38-year-old superstar didn't leave much of an impact. In the 24th minute, he headed the ball into Bosnia's net after a pass from Joao Cancelo, but VAR ruled that CR7 was offside and the goal was disallowed.
Naturally, Ronaldo was not pleased with that decision. He punched the air forcefully and walked away with a displeased expression. He seemed to indicate that he had been unlucky in that play.
Indeed, luck didn't seem to favor CR7. In the 36th minute, Ronaldo made an impressive move and created an opportunity for Felix to shoot from close range, but the Bosnian goalkeeper made a spectacular save.
In the 89th minute, CR7 once again set up a goal for his teammate, but unfortunately, he couldn't register an assist as Sehic made an excellent save to deny Diogo Jota's shot.
While Ronaldo encountered his share of misfortune, Bruno seemed to have the opposite. In the 77th minute, the Manchester United star rose high to head the ball, increasing the scoreline to 2-0 after a pass from Ruben Neves. In added time, Bruno concluded his perfect performance with a skillful shot, sealing a 3-0 victory for the home team.
If he had been a bit more fortunate, Bruno could have scored a hat-trick in this match. In the 80th minute, he dribbled into Bosnia's penalty area and confidently attempted a header over the goalkeeper, but the ball went wide. Earlier, it was Bruno who provided a favorable assist for Bernardo Silva to score a classy opening goal in the 44th minute.
According to Sofascore, during his 90 minutes on the field, Bruno had 83 touches, successfully completed 49 out of 59 passes with an accuracy rate of 83%. He also had the highest success rate in duals, winning 5 out of 8 encounters with the opposing players.
Furthermore, with his two goals and one assist in this match, the 1994-born midfielder has now contributed to 40 goals at the club and national team level in the 2022/23 season. In his last 10 games for the national team, he has been the standout player, scoring 7 goals and providing 6 assists.
Previously, Bruno often struggled to perform well for the Portuguese national team, despite his brilliant form at the club level. He even had limited playing time and rarely completed 90 minutes on the field.
The reason was that Portugal used to focus the game around Ronaldo and considered him the focal point of their playstyle. Despite Bruno's excellence, it seemed that he couldn't combine well with CR7.
However, things are gradually changing at the moment. Ronaldo is now 38 years old and no longer maintains peak form. In fact, during the 2022 World Cup, he was benched for the last two matches, giving way to Goncalo Ramos as the starting striker. It was only when Roberto Martinez took over from Fernando Santos that Ronaldo regained his importance to the team.
Nevertheless, if Ronaldo continues to contribute little to the goals, his place in the starting lineup could be shaken. Currently, Bruno is the soul of Portugal's gameplay. And HLV Martinez will need to find someone who can complement Bruno well, rather than someone who can harmonize with CR7.
Portugal is nearing qualification for EURO With a resounding 3-0 victory over Bosnia, Portugal tops Group J in the EURO 2024 qualifiers with 9 points from 3 consecutive wins. In the next round, Portugal will face Iceland. Their goal of securing an early spot in the EURO 2024 finals is within close reach.
