Recently, former Scottish football great Ally McCoist stated that at 39, Cristiano Ronaldo would struggle to make the starting lineup for the English national team if he played for them.
After watching Ronaldo’s performances in the first two matches of the Euros, McCoist believes that if the Portuguese star were part of the England squad, he would find it difficult to secure a place in the tournament.
McCoist commented, “Frankly, Ronaldo would face significant challenges playing for England now. Maybe five or ten years ago, he could have walked straight into the team, but time has caught up with him, just as it does with everyone. So, I don’t think Ronaldo would be a starter for the England team.”
As one of the oldest players in this Euro edition, Ronaldo has set a record for the most appearances in the competition, making it his sixth Euro campaign.
He is striving to break another record by becoming the oldest goalscorer in Euro history and continues to chase the highest individual goal-scoring record in the tournament. Having scored 14 goals across his previous five Euro participations, he remains a key figure for Portugal.
In contrast to Fernando Santos, who was Portugal’s manager during the 2022 World Cup, current coach Roberto Martínez has shown great faith in Ronaldo, starting him in crucial Group F matches against the Czech Republic and Turkey, where he assisted Bruno Fernandes for a goal.
