International Press seem to have jumped these words from Ronaldo after the match with the US.
Ronaldo says that Portugal doesn't have enough quality
Cristiano Ronaldo admits that he never thought that it was ever possible to win the 2014 World Cup and acknowledges the fact that Portugal is a team "with limitations" but admits that he does not have "enough morale to speak".
Honestly and without mince words, Cristiano Ronaldo admits, after the compromising draw with Team USA (2-2), that Portugal does not have enough quality to compete for the title of world champion and that he never believed that the Portuguese team would have any chances.
"Maybe the others are better than us. I never thought that I could be a World Champion, sincerely. We have to be humble and recognize our capabilities", admitted the captain of the Portuguese team.
The "Balon d'Or 2013", still, had his own criticism and assumed that even him does not have "enough morale to speak", since he knows that he is not shining at his best level. "It was hard from the very beginning. Portugal was never assumed as a potential winner, so there was no pressure. It's obvious that we wanted to win and we had responsibilities, both players and the whole team. We did our best, but we couldn't achieve anything. We are sad and frustrated...", he declared.
Now, only a "miracle" on the last game of the group stage can qualify the Portuguese for the final stages. "Mathematically it is possible, though it is almost an impossible task. But, in football, anything can happen. We are sad because we wanted to do better. If we analyse the qualifiers and the play-off, there are no miracles. So, we knew that we would have a very complicated group stage".
Cristiano insisted in the thought that the "Seleção das Quinas" should not think about winning World Cups. "I am not self-righteous, I say what I have in mind. It can happen, but there are teams that are better than us. We wanted to give more, just like I said before, but there's still a chance. We'll play until the very last game", he finished, before agreeing that Portugal is a team of "average quality".
"Average, maybe yes. It would be a lie if I said that we are a top team. We have limitations, injuries, Pepe, Coentrão... that gives us plenty of limitations. We have an overly limited team. Without being at our best, we cannot compete against top teams", he justified.
Still, Ronaldo refuses criticism against him for playing while not being at his best physical conditions. "It would be easier for me to end an amazing year on my amazing club, with the Champions League and each individual title. But I presented myself to the task and don't want to justify myself with injuries. I'm here to help and I gave my contribution. We can't do more, we have to raise our heads and keep playing until the last game".
In the end, he denied the premise that his partners from the national team aren't applying theirselves to the tournament. "No one goes to a World Cup without the wish to show off his football, to shine, to run... That's unthinkable on this group, but there are things that are unachievable... or we run more, or we try to enhance our quality, many details. We need to raise our heads, understand that there are better teams than ours, and also players that are better than us".
Original article:
http://www.dn.pt/desporto/seleccao/interior.aspx?content_id=3986022&page=1
Translated by: Me
