“The pieces around him aren’t working” - Gabriele Marcotti assesses Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal loss to Denmark

Football pundit Gabriele Marcotti believes Cristiano Ronaldo lacked support from his Portugal teammates in the 1-0 defeat to Denmark. Roberto Martinez's side faced the Scandinavian nation on Thursday, March 20, in the first leg of the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal.

Diogo Costa saved a penalty in the first half, but Portugal were undone by Rasmus Hojlund's 78th-minute strike. Denmark now have a slender advantage ahead of the return leg at Estadio Jose Alvalade on Sunday, March 23.

Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, failed to have an influence, registering two shots, both of which were off target. The 40-year-old was an isolated figure on the pitch, managing just 30 touches in the entire game.

Speaking on ESPN FC after the game, Marcotti insisted that it is wrong to blame CR7 for the defeat.

“You can’t put all of this on Cristiano Ronaldo. That chance he had in the game was probably his best chance but the pieces around him aren’t working. If you’re Portugal, you do have a number of options [instead of Ronaldo] and hopefully, Roberto Martinez will go and consider all of them [in the next game]," said Marcotti.

He continued:

“It can’t be down to simply Cristiano. I think there’s a good chance that if he feels ready, he starts. But the rest of the team has to step up.”

The Portuguese superstar has registered 28 goals from 33 games for Al-Nassr this season, and his contract expires this summer.

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How many hattricks has Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Portugal?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has the joint-most hattricks in international football, alongside Lionel Messi. Both players have registered 10 hattricks for their national team so far.

Ronaldo also has the most hattricks for Portugal, followed by Pauleta on three. The Portuguese national team have registered 28 hattricks, and Ronaldo accounts for 10 of them.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is also one of five players to have scored four goals for the Southern European nation in a single game. He is also among three Portuguese players to have scored a hattrick at the FIFA World Cup, managing the feat in the 3-3 group stage draw against Spain in 2018.

However, the Al-Nassr forward has never scored a hattrick for his nation at the Euros. The last player to score a hattrick for Portugal is Goncalo Ramos, who achieved the feat in the 6-1 win against Switzerland at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Interestingly, Ramos was an unused substitute against Denmark on Thursday.