MANCHESTER UNITED star Cristiano Ronaldo has told the Portugal squad that the secret to winning the World Cup is to “stay humble”.
The 37-year-old has experienced most things in football during his illustrious career and he is captain of the Portuguese side heading to Qatar.
Ronaldo has offered some words of wisdom ahead of the tournament and is confident his country can go all the way.
He said: “Of course we’re there to win and I believe we have the squad to do it.
“But then there are a number of top teams out there with world-class talent so we have to stay focused, stay humble, and go out there and show what we can do. The rest will follow.”
Ronaldo knows how to win on the international stage as he was part of the team that won Euro 2016 and the inaugural edition of the Nations League with Portugal.
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But he has never lifted a World Cup and this will be his record equalling sixth attempt at glory.
Portugal’s best result in the tournament with Ronaldo playing came in 2006 when the team reached the semi-final. Portugal didn’t make it past the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup.
But Ronaldo will not live in the past saying: “It’s hard to compare one generation with another.
“Everyone who plays for Portugal, whether in the past or today, has overcome so much to compete at the top level.
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“There has always been and there always will be rising stars at the top level. I have no doubt that the World Cup will unveil the next generation of talent ready to change the game.”
Portugal play Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea in the group stage.
And all eyes will be on CR7 after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
He slammed Man Utd for “betraying” him and hit out at manager Erik ten Hag and his former boss Ralf Rangnick.
He also hit out at former teammates Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney for criticising him.
But Ronaldo has moved on and is training for the World Cup looking to turn around a poor season.
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He shared a photo of himself online training captioning it: “Total and absolute focus on the work of the National Team. A united group, towards a single objective: to fulfil the dream of all Portuguese people!”
There may be some difficulties in camp though after Bruno Fernandes appeared to give him an icy welcome on international duty.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
