Cristiano Ronaldo’s fans can take a sigh of relief as Portugal boss Roberto Martinez has revealed that he is set to unleash the football legend on John O’Shea’s Ireland on Tuesday night, RTE reported.
Martinez, 50, told a press conference: “The plan is to have minutes. We need to have training, so I don’t know if they will start or finish the game, but Pepe, Ruben and Ronaldo will have minutes.
“Players need to play minutes, have connections, enjoy the game, work on collective concepts. Ireland has a competitive capacity that is good for us because the tactical structure is similar to that of Georgia, for example.”
Martinez’s remarks came days after Ronaldo, 39, was benched in Portugal’s international friendly against Croatia which resulted in his team’s 2-1 loss.
Many fans linked the defeat to the absence of the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star on the field.
However, fans can hope for a victory as Ronaldo will return to the field against Ireland which has steadied the ship in the three games, beating Hungary 2-1 last week after drawing with Belgium and losing narrowly to Switzerland in March.
Portugal launch their finals campaign against the Czech Republic in Leipzig on June 18 and Martinez has no qualms about the ability of Ronaldo or Pepe to make an impact on the tournament despite their advanced years.
