Fernando Santos says he had “no doubts” about Cristiano Ronaldo after the Juventus star fired Portugal to the verge of Euro 2020 with a hat-trick.
Much had been made of Ronaldo’s physical condition after Juventus took him off in their last two games against Lokomotiv Moscow and Milan.
However, the No 7 started and starred for Portugal in their 6-0 victory over Lithuania on Thursday, helping himself to a treble of finishes.
Fernando Santos says he had “no doubts” about Cristiano Ronaldo after the Juventus star fired Portugal to the verge of Euro 2020 with a hat-trick.
Much had been made of Ronaldo’s physical condition after Juventus took him off in their last two games against Lokomotiv Moscow and Milan.
However, the No 7 started and starred for Portugal in their 6-0 victory over Lithuania on Thursday, helping himself to a treble of finishes.
Santos’ side are now just a win against Luxembourg away from defending their European Championship crown next summer.
“Cristiano’s fine. The pitch can talk more than anything else,” the CT said after the game.
“I had no doubt that during my Press conference, someone would ask me about his condition.
“I personally had no doubts, it was the others who did.”
The 34-year-old scored his 55th career hat-trick and ninth of his career with the Selecao.
Additionally, he has now bagged 30 goals in a calendar year for 13 straight years and is just two away from 100 for his country.