Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has played down his country’s chances of winning the World Cup by claiming Portugal are in the toughest group.
The Ballon d’Or winner will captain his country in games against Germany, the USA and Ghana in Group G. And writing on his Sportlobster.com blog, Ronaldo said that while him and his teammates are ambitious and want to go far in Brazil, they have to take each game as it comes.
“We are not favourites, indeed, but as always, we will try and do the best possible. We know we have a difficult group stage. In fact, in my opinion, it is the strongest group of the World Cup, but let’s take one step at a time,” he stated.
The 51-goal Real Madrid star then went on to explain his pride at representing his country, and being aware that he is representing everyone in Portugal when he takes to the field.
“It’s an enormous pride to represent and to captain the Portuguese national side. Pride, satisfaction, pleasure and honour, but also a big responsibility.
“Above all, it’s the country that is at stake and we know that an entire nation — composed of 10 million Portuguese plus the ones living abroad — not only has their eyes set on us but also thrills with our successes and cries with the less good moments.
“We left for the World Cup in Brazil with hope, but also making sure that we keep our feet firmly on the ground,” he wrote.
