Martinez hails Ronaldo as 'exemplary' after Portugal's 5-0 win

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez praised Cristiano Ronaldo as an "exemplary" leader after the 5-0 World Cup victory over Uzbekistan, in which the Al-Nassr forward scored twice to silence critics following a difficult week of external pressure. Ronaldo had described the period after Portugal's 1-1 draw with DR Congo as a "dark week", and Martinez said: "It was a very difficult week, with unfair noise.

We didn't get the result we worked for [against DR Congo] and it created a difficult situation because there's noise. Noise that was unfair, 'fake news', aspects that were malicious. After a result like that, it's easy to make excuses, to look the other way, but our players focused and had an incredible attitude." Martinez stressed that Ronaldo's influence went beyond the two goals: "Cristiano was an exemplary captain, focused on what he could control and also used his experience.

Portugal

cristiano ronaldo, roberto martinez, portugal, uzbekistan, world cup, al-nassr, dr congo, captain, brace, leadership