Opponents would be happy if Ronaldo started at Euro 2024.

According to Czech Republic legend Patrick Berger, Cristiano Ronaldo starting will be a weakness for the Portuguese national team at Euro 2024.

On June 18th, Portugal will kick off Group F with a match against the Czech Republic, Berger's home country. The former midfielder, who reached the Euro 1996 final, told BoyleSports on April 5th: "If Cristiano Ronaldo starts against the Czech Republic at Euro 2024, I will be very happy. Portugal has a great team and can win even without Ronaldo in the starting lineup. They have a much greater chance if he doesn't start. If he's on the bench, I'll be more worried for the Czech Republic."

Berger believes Portugal should have started Ronaldo on the bench for every match at the 2022 World Cup. He asserts that if they had done so, Portugal could have reached the final and competed against Argentina for the championship.

Ronaldo played in Portugal's friendly match against Slovenia, which Portugal lost 0-2 on March 26 in Slovenia. Photo: AP

At the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo started all three group stage matches, but only scored one goal from a penalty. After that, he only came on as a substitute in the 74th minute of the 6-1 win against Switzerland in the round of 16 and in the 51st minute of the 0-1 loss to Morocco in the quarter-finals.

According to Berger, Ronaldo's best time playing for Portugal is the last 25 minutes. He argues that CR7 always gets a chance, so playing less doesn't significantly affect the team. "It would have been better for Portugal if Ronaldo had been a substitute two years ago in Qatar, but with his ego and things like that, it's hard to drop him," Berger added. "His age is a limiting factor, even if he's one of the best players of all time."

Ronaldo holds the record for scoring 128 goals in 206 international matches. The 39-year-old striker has also scored 42 goals in 41 games for Al Nassr in the 2023-2024 season, including two hat-tricks in his last two matches.

In 2016, Ronaldo scored two goals in the group stage and one in the semi-final of the Euro. He had to leave the field in the 25th minute of the final due to injury, but Portugal still beat host nation France 1-0 thanks to a goal from substitute striker Eder in the 109th minute.

Besides the Czech Republic, Portugal will also face Türkiye and Georgia in Group F of Euro 2024. The tournament consists of 24 teams divided into six groups. The top two teams from each group and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the Round of 16.

Thanh Quy (according to BoyleSports )

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