Time for Ronaldo to make his mark

“Six years ago we were the predators, now we are the prey,” said Portuguese paper Publico yesterday, of a match where the Danes can afford to wait to catch their opponents on the break, whereas Portugal have to score.

Scoring has become the main problem for Portugal. Their attack did well in qualifying — they needed to — but they have managed one goal in their last four matches.

It is a surprising statistic given Cristiano Ronaldo’s extraordinary scoring record for Real Madrid, above all this past season. For some it indicates that Ronaldo still can’t be relied on to deliver when it really counts. For others it says more about Paulo Bento’s controversial management.