Fansided

10 players with the most to prove

By Harvey Cruz

20180327 - Brussels, Belgium / International Friendly Game : Belgium v Saudi Arabia / "nEden HAZARD"nPicture by Vincent Van Doornick / Isosport
20180327 - Brussels, Belgium / International Friendly Game : Belgium v Saudi Arabia / "nEden HAZARD"nPicture by Vincent Van Doornick / Isosport /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 10
Next
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – MARCH 26: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal during the International Friendly match between Portugal v Netherlands at Stade de Geneve on March 26, 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – MARCH 26: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal during the International Friendly match between Portugal v Netherlands at Stade de Geneve on March 26, 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images) /

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

Really, Cristiano Ronaldo? What does a guy who has won it all at club level, who led his nation to a first ever major international trophy at Euro 2016, what does he have left to prove? Ronaldo being Ronaldo, the minimum expectation in Russia will be the World Cup trophy. As the most popular athlete on Earth, according to ESPN, anything Ronaldo does will be headline news.

Portugal are in a potentially tricky group with Spain, Morocco and Iran. Spain are the favorites, but Ronaldo will be expected to dominate against the other two. His game has changed since 2014. He’s no longer the winger he was, but a traditional, goalscoring number 9, which means he’ll need to rely on his teammates to create chances for him.

And, of course, he’s 33 years old. As impressive as he was this season, particularly in the Champions League, time will soon (probably) catch up to Portugal’s all-time record goalscorer. Ronaldo is nothing if not a showman, and given he’s managed only three World Cup goals in his career, he’ll be desperate to impress at the sport’s showpiece tournament.

Ronaldo is one of the all-time greats, arguably the greatest goalscorer to ever grace the pitch He may not need a World Cup to cement his legacy, but try telling him that. A machine who’ll lead a Portuguese side who expect to punch above their weight. Why? Because they’ve got Ronaldo, and the pressure is always on.