Cristiano Ronaldo 'Frustrated' By Exclusion From Portugal Squad For World Cup Play-Off
He says playing for his country is among the proudest moments of his career...
The national team captain returned to Madrid after being examined by Portuguese team medics who finally agreed with the diagnosis from Madrid's medical staff which ruled him out of action for at least ten more days.
Now Ronaldo says he is "sad and frustrated" and will have to be content with cheering his team-mates on from the stands, confirming that he will attend the game in Lisbon. He also says he has "no doubt" Portugal can qualify without him.
"It's a huge frustration that I cannot help Portugal, and more so in a moment no less decisive than this play-off against Bosnia," he told AS.
"Nobody at this point, feels more sad than me, because to represent Portugal never stopped being one of the greatest moments of pride I feel as a professional footballer and as a citizen but now I have no alternative but to encourage my team from the outside.
"I'll be at the stadium to support my team-mates. I am sure that keeping the spirit that we have witnessed, with unity, humility and solidarity, we will impose the quality of our football... In the end I will be with the team to celebrate the first of two steps that define our qualification for the World Cup. I have no doubt that we will be there," he concluded.
Paul Madden, Goal.com
Hosted by Stephen Crawford & Adam Scime
We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!
Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.
From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!
Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.
"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.
"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."
Full story HERE
“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.
(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)
“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.
“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.
Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.
“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.
“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”
"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."
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